


Siren Song

by GatorGirl2016



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Castiel (Supernatural), Bottom Castiel/Top Dean Winchester, Bottom Dean Winchester, Castiel Learns to be Human (Supernatural), Castiel and Dean Winchester Falling in Love, Castiel and Dean Winchester First Meet, Castiel and Dean Winchester Have a Profound Bond, Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love, Castiel's First Kiss (Supernatural), Castiel's First Time Having Sex (Supernatural), Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time Having Sex, Comforting Dean Winchester, Creature Castiel (Supernatural), Crossdressing Castiel (Supernatural), Dean Winchester Teaches Castiel to be Human, Dean/Cas Big Bang (Supernatural), Dean/Cas Big Bang 2020 (Supernatural), Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Good Parent Mary Winchester, Happy Ending, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Marine Biologist Dean Winchester, Minor Violence, Mute Castiel (Supernatural), Mute Dean Winchester, Non-Hunter Winchesters (Supernatural), Protective Dean Winchester, Romantic Fluff, Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Top Castiel (Supernatural), Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Top Dean Winchester, Top/Bottom Versatile Castiel/Dean Winchester, Virgin Castiel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 49,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27337021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GatorGirl2016/pseuds/GatorGirl2016
Summary: In Castiel’s world, sirens are half female, half fish who use their songs to lure men to their beds. Once pregnant, the siren returns to sea forever. This has always been the way of sirens and no siren has ever deviated from their nature, until Castiel came along. Castiel is  an oddity among his kind in many ways: he’s male, his tail is unlike any others, he loves going to land, and he longs to find a mate for life rather than one night. Castiel has spent his entire life struggling to fit in with a clan who would rather see him disappear.While enjoying the rolling waves one stormy night, Castiel notices a man thrown overboard from his ship. Without hesitating, Castiel saves the man and carries him to land. From the moment Castiel meets Dean, the two are enthralled by one another. Like Castiel, Dean is mute, but they discover a way to work around that. Dean, a marine biologist, is fascinated by the gorgeous siren. Their friendship quickly evolves into romance and soon Cas can’t imagine returning to the sea because it means leaving Dean behind. When tragedy strikes, Dean and Cas are forced apart. Will the two lovers find a way to be reunited or will they be forced to live the rest of their lives in separate worlds?
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 11
Kudos: 80
Collections: DCBB 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man am I excited to finally share my DCBB 2020 contribution! This is my first ever DCBB and it has been a lot of fun! I got paired with the lovely [Aggiedoll](http://archiveofourown.org/users/romachebella/pseuds/romachebella) and it has been so wonderful to work with her! The art she's created for this fic is gorgeous and she spoiled me by making so much! Her art masterpost can be found [here.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/27396559) Go give her the love she deserves! Huge shout out to my Beta: destiel-more-like-bestiel. I'm sure she got tired of adding in all the commas I missed throughout this fic! Thank you for making this fic as perfect as possible! To all my lovely readers, I hope you guys enjoy this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was definitely a labor of love.

The moon was high in the sky. The waves below were tumultuous and destroyed anything that happened to be floating on them. They slammed against the coast, crashing into the rocks, sending pieces of stones into the murky depths with every sweep. Rain poured in sheets and the wind that blew was strong enough to pick a small child up and carry them along.

Most creatures were huddled in their homes, not daring enough to brave the severity of the storm that was raging outside. Castiel was _not_ most creatures though. From a young age, the siren had always enjoyed the sea when it was at its roughest. He loved riding the waves and feeling the rain pounding on his back. He took great joy in the solitude that such times offered him.

Even though he belonged to a clan, the young siren could not help but feel as if he was an outcast. He was unlike his fellow sirens in multiple ways; after all, it wasn’t his fault he had been born a male in an entirely female species. Before Castiel had been born, there had never been a male siren, or at least his people had no record of one. His clan only allowed him to stay because his mother was their leader.

The siren’s looks were another unique feature of his. His messy black hair and blue eyes were common enough, but his tail was not. Like most of his kind, Castiel had a tail that resembled a shark’s. What was not like his kind, however, was his coloring. Sirens typically had tails that were a variation of gray or blue and were one color from waist to tip. Castiel’s tail, however, was a light bronzy gray with large black oval spots running down the back of his tail. It was also coated in hundreds of smaller black spots like a Dalmatian.

In the middle of the siren’s lower back was a large dorsal fin and below that was a smaller secondary dorsal fin. He had a pair of pelvic fins that were similar in size to his second dorsal fin. Below his pelvic fins and his second dorsal fin on the ventral side of his tail was an anal fin. His caudal fin had two lobes with the upper lobe stretching out much further than the bottom lobe.

Sirens had the ability to move between the land and sea at will. The transition was painful the first few times, but after a half dozen transitions, turning into a human was as easy as breathing. Sirens typically only went to land to find a human male to procreate with before returning to the sea permanently. His kind was feared among the humans for having hypnotizing songs that brought sailors to their doom, but only part of that was true. They did have magical songs, but the purpose wasn’t to lure a human to their death, it was to entice them into their bed. They used their songs to hypnotize their chosen suitor to ensure that there was a successful mating between the pair.

Once pregnant, the siren would return to the sea and raise their young, never to return to land again. Sirens could only have one child throughout their life, therefore the land held nothing for them once they became pregnant. The humans were left behind, disoriented but with no memories of that night, the siren song doing its job.

Castiel wished that the only things about him that were different were his sex and his looks, but it wasn’t so. It seemed everything about him was meant to ostracize him from the rest of his kind. Castiel loved the land and would transform once a week, if not more. He loved to watch the humans and learn about their customs. He knew more about them than any other in his clan. It was the one way he felt useful; the others would come to him when they prepared to go look for a mate. He was happy to help his clanmates find a suitor, but he had no desire to use his song to lure a human into his bed for a single night. Castiel wanted to find someone who he could spend his life with and get married to as he had seen humans do. He knew he would outlive his mate, as humans had much shorter lifespans than his kind, but he wanted to know what it felt like to be loved by someone.

Sirens didn’t love in the way humans did. They protected their young and guarded them but only until they were old enough to protect themselves. Once a siren had reached adolescence, it could stay with its own clan or strike out on its own to find a new one. They were only accepted by a new clan if they had something valuable they could offer, such as being a good hunter. Once they were no longer useful, the clan would cast them out to live their life in solitude or to search for another clan.

Clan members watched over one another, but they weren’t willing to die for one another. They might hunt together or patrol together, but they were never truly friends. They formed clans for survival as there was strength in numbers, not to form relationships.

Castiel longed for something more. He wanted to be desired and cherished for who he was, not what he had to offer. He knew it was likely a pointless wish though. His song would ensure a mate, but it couldn’t make the person love him. Sirens didn’t have the ability to speak like the humans did and so Cas would never be able to convince a human to fall in love with him. No declarations of affection or endearment would ever pass his lips.

Castiel had accepted his fate, knowing that his dreams would never become a reality. He supposed that was why he enjoyed going on land so much; it was its own form of torture. The siren wanted to see others in love even if it were something he could never have. He had considered many times going to land and never returning to the sea, but at least in the water he had a clan. On land, he had no one.

Lightning suddenly lit up the sky and in the distance the siren was able to make out a human ship being tossed about on the waves. He couldn’t fathom why any human would be on the water in such a storm, but he decided to get a closer look. He cut through the ocean with ease, his powerful tail propelling him forward and in minutes he was mere feet away from the vessel.

It was a fisherman’s ship and Castiel could only guess that they hadn’t heeded the warnings of the sea and sky signaling the fast-approaching storm. He watched as the humans scurried about, doing everything in their power to keep the boat from sinking. Waves crashed violently against it and some were so high, they flooded the deck of the ship with water. The wind filled the sails and snapped the ropes from the humans’ hands who tried to control them.

Castiel wished he could help them, but there was little he could do. He may have gone to land many times, but he had never stepped foot on a boat before. He continued to watch the scene in front of him. He was about to swim away when suddenly a body was thrown overboard and landed heavily in the raging waters.

Cas didn’t think twice as he dove underwater, straight for the human. For humans, the visibility would have been zero in the inky depths but for Castiel, it wasn’t a problem. He located the human easily and swam toward him. The man was unconscious and was sinking deeper every second. Cas pushed himself to move faster and breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the man and was able to wrap his arms around him.

With strong strokes of his tail, he pulled the human up until both their heads broke water. He watched as the man started taking shallow breaths. He looked for the ship, but it was moving further away, completely oblivious to its lost passenger. Cas thought about what to do and came to a decision. He turned around and started swimming towards the shore.

It became harder to swim as the water became shallower the closer he got to land. Finally, his tail could propel him no further. He let the human go and dug his fingers into the sand to pull him forward. He had to be entirely out the water before he was able to shift. Once he was completely on land, he allowed the change to overtake him. In seconds, he had two feet instead of a tail. He stood on shaky legs and walked back into the surf to grab the human and pulled him further onto the sand. He knelt and put his ear to the man’s chest listening for a heartbeat. He exhaled the breath he had been holding when he heard the faint beat underneath. He stood before bending over and gathering the shivering man in his arms.

Cas started walking along the shore, heading to a secluded cave that his kind used when they came on land. The human he carried was slightly larger than him and was heavy. His soaked clothes weighed him down, and even with his superior strength, Cas was growing tired. His arms and legs were shaking by the time he reached the cave. He was just inside when his legs gave out, and he crumpled to the ground.

Cas made sure to turn his body so that he landed on the ground with the human on top of him. He rested a few minutes, trying to catch his breath before grabbing the man under the arms and hauling him backwards until he could lean him against the cave wall. Castiel was growing concerned as the man’s skin was ice cold to the touch. He needed to warm the man up or else he would be dead within the hour.

Castiel knew he needed to strip the man of his soaking clothes. Cas rid him of the wet garments quickly before heading deeper into the cave. He was glad that he had ventured on land so much because with every trip he gathered souvenirs and stored them in this cave. He had quite a few blankets that he had collected and hurried to wrap them around the human. He wished he knew how to start a fire but even if he did, he had no materials to burn.

Cas curled up closer to the man, hoping his additional body heat would help to warm him faster. He pulled a blanket over himself and soon enough, Castiel slipped into a deep sleep, exhausted after the events of the night. His dreams were haunted by blonde haired humans falling overboard.

Cas woke up the next morning to sunlight shining into the cave. He felt something wrapped around him and started to panic when the events of the previous night crashed into him. He realized that the arm of the human he had saved was wrapped tightly around his waist. He gently moved the arm so that he could slip away without disturbing the man.

Once out of the human’s grasp, he turned around to study him. Cas knew by human standards that he was extremely pleasing to the eye. He had dark blonde hair and bronze skin that was spackled with freckles. He had high cheekbones and a sharp chin with a five-o-clock shadow. He reached out and dragged a fingertip across the man’s cheek and plump lips. He shivered as he felt the man’s breath ghost over his skin.

Green eyes popped open and both men reared back at seeing the other. Castiel fell on his butt as he tried to move away from the human. The blonde was plastered to the cave wall, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his eyes blown wide in panic. Cas watched as the man’s gaze flickered all around the cave before finally zeroing in on him.

Castiel wished he could speak to soothe the man. He raised his hands slowly, hoping to make the other man understand that he wished to cause him no harm. Green eyes narrowed with suspicion as the human studied Castiel. Cas watched as he raised his hands and started making gestures with them.

Castiel shook his head, not understanding what the man was doing. The blonde continued moving his hands, but it was futile. Cas pointed at the man’s hands and shook his head trying to make the other man understand that he had no idea what he was trying to say.

An idea suddenly struck Castiel. He walked out the cave and returned a few minutes later carrying a stick with him. He knelt in front of the human and started writing in the sand, glad that after spending so much time on land, he had learned about their alphabet. He still had a limited vocabulary, but he could at least write out his name.

He wrote his name in the sand and then pointed at it and then himself. The human watched for a few seconds before pointing at the name in the sand and then pointing to Cas. He nodded in encouragement.

The blonde pointed to the stick and held his hand out. Castiel passed it over and watched as the human wrote something in the sand as well. When the man was done, he repeated the same motions that Cas had. He leaned forward and saw a single word written in the sand: **Dean.**

He was glad he finally had a name to call the human.

He looked up, pointing between the name in the sand and the man. Dean started writing in the sand again and Cas waited for him to finish. When he was done, Cas read the words: **What happened to me?**

Castiel’s shoulders slumped. He didn’t know how to write out all the words he would need for a full explanation. He thought for a few seconds before gesturing for the stick. He tried to explain to the best of his ability what had happened. When he was finished, he pointed to the sand for Dean to read: **Fell, boat, I save, bring here**.

Dean looked up, eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in shock. He grabbed the stick that was lying on the ground and wrote another message: **How did you save me? We were on a boat in the middle of the ocean in a freaking hurricane**.

Cas studied the words, only able to understand some: **how save on boat in ocean**. He chewed on his lip. He couldn’t tell Dean the truth; the human could kill him for what he was. Or, a small part of Cas hoped, Dean would be so thankful that Cas saved him, that he would leave him unharmed.

He looked at the blonde who was staring at him with eyes like a hawk. He pointed back at the message and then at the stick waiting for Cas to answer. He grabbed the stick and slowly wrote: **I good swimmer.**

Dean read it and then snapped his eyes up to lock with Cas’ blue ones, his mouth set in a hard edge. He grabbed the stick and wrote: **Nobody is that good of a swimmer and why the hell would you have been out in that anyway. Tell me the truth**.

Again, Cas only understood some of the message: **no good swimmer, tell truth**. He looked at the other man, pleading with his eyes to not ask for more. Dean wasn’t having it, pointing at Cas and the message in the sand. Castiel knew he didn’t have to answer the question. He could walk away right now, swim back into the ocean, and forget all about Dean. Something about the man kept him from doing so.

The blanket that covered Dean slipped and Cas caught sight of something around his neck. It was a leather cord and hanging from it was a small statue of a siren. Castiel crawled forward slowly, not wanting to spook the human. Dean eyed him cautiously but didn’t move away even when the other man was only a foot or two away from him.

Cas pointed at the siren charm resting against Dean’s chest. Dean looked down and wrapped his hand around the necklace before pulling it over his head. He held it in his hand in front of his face. Cas touched the siren charm and then his own chest. He repeated the motion and knew when Dean understood what he was trying to say. Dean’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock.

Forgetting the stick, Dean used his finger to write two words: **Castiel siren?**

Cas nodded slowly. He waited for Dean to react to his declaration. Bright green orbs flitted between the necklace and the siren. He shook his head disbelievingly as his eyes finally settled on the creature in front of him. He wrote two more words in the sand: **Show Dean.**

 **Need water** , Castiel used his own finger to write in the sand. He stood up and turned towards the mouth of the cave. He looked over his shoulder at Dean. The man sat there, contemplating if he was going to follow the other man. He finally stood up, keeping the blanket wrapped tightly around his waist. Castiel knew humans were finicky when it came to nudity and was surprised Dean hadn’t commented on his lack of clothes as they headed out of the cave.

Cas walked towards the water, Dean trailing behind him, until they stood at the edge of the ocean. Cas looked around making sure there was nobody else in sight. Once he determined the coast was clear, he slipped into the water until it was up to his chest. He looked back at Dean before plunging into the ocean.

As he dove, he willed the change to happen. Painlessly his feet glued together and turned into his tail. Gills grew on the column of his neck, allowing him to breath underwater while webbing grew between his fingers. Once fully transformed, he swam back to the shore, wondering if Dean was still waiting for him.

When his head popped above the water, he couldn’t help the smile on his face when he saw Dean still standing at the edge of the water. He swam as close as possible before having to use his fingers and arms to drag himself to shore. Dean backed up a few steps when Cas came to rest at the shoreline, part of his tail still in the sea.

Dean looked at the siren in awe, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. He took hesitant steps forward before squatting next to the siren. He reached out but paused, his hand hovering over the scaly tail. He looked towards Cas, silently asking permission. He nodded his head once and in the next instant, he was being touched by a human for the first time in his life. He jolted at the feeling of the warm skin against his scales.

In his head he could suddenly hear a voice, _“Holy shit, this dude is seriously a fucking siren.”_

Cas gasped in surprise. He realized it was Dean’s thoughts he heard inside his head. He tried projecting his own, _“Dean, can you hear me?”_ He understood spoken words much more than written words.

It was obvious that Dean heard his thought because he jerked his hand back and looked at Castiel in astonishment. He started moving his hands again, but Cas still had no idea what he was doing. He shook his head vigorously, reaching out to wrap a hand around one of Dean’s wrists.

_“Dean, I don’t understand. What are you saying?”_

_“Dude, you can hear my thoughts! How is that even possible?”_

_“I don’t know Dean. I had no idea this was possible. You are the first human I have ever touched.”_

_“Ok, so let me get this straight. You’re a siren who saved me when I fell overboard last night during that crazy storm and we can communicate in our heads if we are touching?”_

Castiel nodded. _“It seems so. I can speak to other sirens and even animals this way, but I didn’t know it would work with humans. Nobody in my clan has ever spoken of this before so I had no idea, or I would have done it back in the cave. It would have been easier than trying to write in the sand. I understand a lot of human words, but I can only read some.”_

Dean sat back as he stared at the other man disbelievingly. He reached back out and touched the tail, _“I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start.”_

 _“I will answer all of them, but could we please go back to the cave. It’s risky staying out here exposed like this. Not all humans will be as welcoming as you at seeing one of my kind,”_ Castiel thought as his eyes continued to scan the beach.

_“Oh shit, yeah. Let’s go. Do I need to carry you, how long will it take for you to turn back to human?”_

_“I have to be out of the water entirely.”_

Cas pulled himself forward until not even the tip of his tail was in the ocean. In less than ten seconds Cas shifted from fish to human. He slowly stood up, conscious of the other man’s eyes on him. He watched as Dean’s green eyes scanned up and down his body, a blush spreading in his cheeks when his gaze landed on the siren’s groin. Cas bit his lip, knowing that humans had strange attitudes about being without clothes.

He grabbed Dean’s wrist, _“Come Dean. Let’s go back.”_

Dean snapped his attention to Cas’ face before vigorously nodding his head. He started walking back towards the cave, Castiel following silently behind him. Once they were settled back inside, Dean reached out.

_“Ok, so I gotta ask, you got clothes or anything because you are really good looking, and I don’t know how much I’ll be able to pay attention with your body on display.”_

_“You find my human form attractive?”_

_“Cas, have you seen you? You are smoking hot!”_

Castiel smiled, pleased that his appearance was appealing to Dean. He wandered further back into the cave where he kept his stash of items. He pulled out some clothes he had stolen and hastily put them on before returning to his companion’s side. He settled next to Dean so they could touch but was worried by the look he was receiving from the other man.

_“Dean, is everything alright? You are looking at me weird.”_

_“Sorry Cas, but you realize you’re wearing women's clothing, right? Well partially anyways. The t-shirt anybody wears, but usually only chicks wear skirts.”_

Castiel picked at the soft purple material that covered his legs. _“I do know that usually women wear this, but I like how flowy it is. I have worn pants, but they are very constricting, and I didn’t like it. I can change, though, if it makes you uncomfortable.”_ Cas couldn’t keep the hurt from his mental voice as he dropped his eyes.

He was forced to look up when Dean slipped a finger under his chin. _“You don’t have to change just for me. If you like wearing a skirt, then wear a skirt. There are guys who dress in more feminine clothes because it makes them feel good and everybody should have the right to do what makes them feel good. I didn’t mean to make you think I didn’t approve. Either way, you’re gorgeous.”_ The blush returned to the tan cheeks as he spoke.

Cas smiled a big gummy smile. _“Are you always so quick to flirt with strangers. That’s twice you’ve complimented me on my looks. Thank you for being ok with this.”_

Dean rubbed at the back of his neck as he bumped shoulders with the other man. He wet his lips and Castiel couldn’t help but track the movement. _“I, uh, typically flirt but there’s something about you, Cas. I can’t explain it, but I’m attracted to you, far more than any other person I’ve known for only about an hour.”_

He grew concerned, pulling his arm away from Dean and bringing his knees to his chest. His thoughts were racing as he feared for the worse. He jumped when he felt Dean’s hand on him again.

_“Cas, did I say something wrong? I’m sorry for being so forward. I can back off if it makes you uncomfortable.”_

_“It’s not that. I’m afraid I accidentally sang my song to you somehow without realizing it. Our song is meant to ensnare humans and make them crave our touch and affection. It’s what we use to lure men into sleeping with us when we wish to get pregnant.”_

_“So, the whole song thing is true? Do you guys really lure sailors to their death with it?”_

Cas rolled his eyes. _“No, we don’t. Just to hypnotize them into sleeping with us.”_

 _“If it makes you feel any better, I’m not compelled to sleep with you. I mean, I wouldn’t say no but it’s not like it’s the only thing I can think about. I think I’m just insanely attracted to you.”_ He looked up to see Dean staring at him with hooded eyes and a flirty smile.

Cas returned the smile as he moved his hand so that he could intertwine it with Dean’s. _“I think I might be attracted to you as well.”_

He watched as the other man’s cheeks and neck turned a deep shade of red. _“Thanks Cas.”_

_“So, I know you must have questions about me.”_

_“Duh. I don’t even know where to start. How old are you, how many times have you come to land, what’s it like living under the sea, are there more like you, what exactly is your song…”_

Castiel chuckled in his head causing Dean to stop his onslaught of questions. _“Sirens don’t keep track of our age like humans do. We use the full moon. I am three hundred and sixty-four full moons.”_

Dean sat there for a few seconds, trying to figure out how many years that would make Cas. _“You’re thirty years old then in human terms. You don’t really look thirty though.”_

_“How old are you Dean?”_

_“I’m twenty-six but I look older than you.”_

_“Well, by my kind’s standards, I’m barely more than a teenager. My kind can live to see more than eighteen hundred full moons.”_

Dean took a minute to do the math before his eyes widened, _“Holy cow, you guys can live to be more than a hundred and fifty years old. That’s insane. God, I’m crushing on a minor.”_

Cas chuckled, the sound echoing in his head. _“I won’t tell anyone Dean. To answer your other questions, I have lost count of how many times I’ve come to land. I enjoy humanity and usually come onto land at least four or more times between each full moon. My clan thinks me odd that I come to land so much.”_

_“You guys usually stay in the water?”_

_“Normally, we would only come onto land once to find a human to mate with. Once pregnant, we return back to the sea for the rest of our lives,”_ Cas explained.

_“You only come to land one time in your entire lives? Do you have, like, some super strict birth restriction?”_

Castiel cocked his head, confused by Dean’s question. _“We have no restrictions on getting pregnant, but since we can only give birth once in our life, we have no need to come back to land.”_

_“You guys can only give birth once in your entire lives? That’s insane man. Why do you guys need humans anyways? Are there like way more females than males and you want to increase genetic diversity?”_

Cas’ jaw tightened as he looked down at his knees. _“As far as I know, I’m the only male siren in existence. Besides me, sirens are a completely female species. That’s why we need human males.”_

_“Are you sure you’re the only guy? Are there other clans out there besides yours? Maybe there’s only like one male per every hundred females or something. Maybe it’s rare but can happen.”_

Castiel shook his head. _“No Dean. I am the only one. Sirens sometimes move from their home clan to others and we have some members who came all the way from the Indian Ocean and even the Mediterranean Sea but I am the only male siren they’ve ever seen. The only reason I haven’t been forced to leave my clan yet is because my mother is the clan leader. But even she has warned me that if I don’t become useful to the clan then I will be forced to leave soon.”_

Dean’s eyes narrowed in anger and his mouth was set in a grim line. _“What do you mean she will kick you out if you aren’t useful? You’re her son, she must love you!”_

Cas felt his heart break at his friend’s words. He had lived his whole life wishing his mother loved him like a human mother loves her children. He was startled when he felt water drop from his eye onto his chin. He wiped at the wetness, unbelieving that he was crying. He had never heard of a siren crying before.

Dean’s hand tightened around his and he reached out to wipe another tear off Cas’ face. _“I didn’t mean to upset you Cas. I’m not sure what I said, but I’m sorry.”_

He flashed a watery smile at Dean before replying, _“It’s not your fault. Sirens are much more barbaric than humans and we don’t feel things the same way you do. Sirens don’t love one another. A mother protects her children until they reach adolescence, but then they must defend for themselves. We live in clans for the strength and the ability to hunt larger prey. Everyone must contribute something to the clan or else you will be kicked out.”_

_“What kind of things can you contribute?”_

_“Most are hunters. Some are healers and gatherers. My mother is our leader, but she is also a fierce hunter. I am good at none of that. The only thing I contribute is my extensive knowledge of humans to help others when they go on land to find a mate. That is not enough to make me useful enough to keep around. Truthfully, my mother has kept me around longer than she should, especially since I’m already such an outcast.”_ Castiel sighed, as he thought about the uncertainty of his future within the clan.

_“I would think they would be happy to have a male within the clan. Not to be crass but you could help them with babies without them needing to come to land since they don’t seem to like it all that much.”_

Castiel laughed so hard, he clutched at his stomach. _“Even if I were a normal looking siren, I would not wish to be with another siren. I have found that I am only attracted to human males.”_

 _“The only male siren would be gay,”_ Dean replied jokingly. _“What do you mean if you were normal looking?”_

_“Did you not pay attention to my tail?”_

Dean shrugged nonchalantly. _“You had a tail that resembled that of a leopard shark. I thought your tail was fucking gorgeous. Believe it or not, I’m kind of partial to that species.”_

A ghost of a smile crossed Cas’ face. _“You’re the first creature who enjoyed the look of my tail. Sirens typically have tails that resemble those of great white sharks or blue sharks or something like that.”_

 _“So, your typical boring shark species. That sounds ok, but I prefer yours. I actually work for a marine science institute studying leopard sharks. That’s what I was doing on that boat last night. We were on a research trip, and we stayed out way too late. I tried to tell my colleague that a storm was brewing, but he ignored me. Although, maybe being out there wasn’t such a bad thing.”_ Dean pulled on Castiel’s hand and placed a gentle kiss to the top of it, causing the other man to blush.

_“You should be glad you fell when you did. I was about to swim away when I saw you fall into the ocean.”_

_“Thank you for saving me and not letting me drown. I know it was a big risk for you, especially since you didn’t know if I would hurt you.”_ Dean placed another light kiss to the older man’s hand.

Cas watched the motion, his eyes softening at such a tender gesture. _“I’m glad I didn’t let you drown either. I’ve never been able to talk to a human this much before. Sirens have their songs, but we can’t talk like humans. We can make sounds to communicate in the water and we have different hand gestures, but we can’t speak words.”_

He felt Dean tense up next to him. It was like Dean physically curled in on himself and sadness bled into his eyes. _“It’s ok Cas. I…I can’t speak either.”_

Cas cupped Dean’s jaw in his hand, waiting for Dean to look at him. _“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but what happened?”_

_“My family didn’t have a lot of money growing up. We barely scraped by. I got really sick and my parents couldn’t afford to take me to the doctor right away. By the time they saved up enough money, it was too late. The doctors figured I had contracted a virus, my body was able to fight it off but not before it caused permanent damage to my vocal cords. I haven’t been able to make any sound at all since I was twelve.”_

_“I’m so sorry Dean. That must have been horrible. How do you communicate with other humans?”_ Cas let despair bleed into his voice.

 _“Sign language. That’s what I was doing with my hands before we started writing with the stick. I guess the signals your kind uses are different than the ones humans use to sign with. For example, this means hello, my name is Dean.”_ Cas watched intently as Dean slowly moved his hands to sign the phrase. He tried to replicate the motions and after a little help from Dean, he was clumsily signing.

 _“Here, instead of my name, here is the sign for yours.”_ Dean showed him willingly.

Cas was ecstatic that he had learned something new. _“Dean, will you show me how to sign more? I will show you some of the gestures my kind use in return. They are mostly used to plan our hunts and such. Our vocabulary is much smaller than human language. We don’t have symbols for all the emotions and feelings that humans have nor do we have familial terms beside mother, father, and child.”_

 _“I would love to teach you more Cas, and I would be honored that you would show me more about your culture. I promise I’m not going to tell anyone. I might be a researcher, but harming another sentient being just to be famous isn’t my kind of thing,”_ Dean replied, a look of disgust on his face.

Castiel shook his head. _“I don’t understand what you mean. Any other human would just kill me if they knew what I was, wouldn’t they?”_

Dean scoffed mentally. _“No, Cas, they wouldn’t. They would capture you and do all kinds of tests on you since you are basically an undiscovered species. Whoever exposed you and your kind to the public would become crazy rich. You’re supposed to be the stuff of myth and legend. Sadly, they would never consider how you felt, only caring about what they could gain.”_

_“You are learning about me, but you aren’t harming me. I would be willing to share my people and my culture but not if it came at some great harm to myself or my clan.”_

_“Yeah, well, I ain’t like most people Cas. My momma made sure to raise me right and always taught me to treat every living thing with respect. She said that just because they don’t feel or act the same way we do, doesn’t mean they are dumb. Even if you weren’t as intelligent as what you are, I would still be cautious about sharing you with the world. It’s why I typically work alone with only a few close friends who understand how I treat any of the animals I am researching. I might be running tests on them, but I make sure to take care of them and make them as comfortable as possible,”_ Dean explained, obviously proud of his research and the way it was carried out.

Cas leaned his head against his companion’s shoulder while Dean rubbed small circles into the back of his hand. _“I’m glad you were the human that fell overboard Dean. I know we just met but you are the kindest, most thoughtful soul I’ve ever known.”_

_“I feel the same way about you Cas. Thank you for sharing so much with me. I can’t wait to learn more about one another.”_

Cas was about to reply when suddenly Dean’s stomach let out a mighty growl. Dean smiled sheepishly at the other man.

 _“Dean, are you ok? Are you injured in some way that I didn’t notice,”_ Castiel asked, his voice full of concern.

_“I’m fine Cas, just hungry. It’s nearing mid-afternoon and I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night.”_

_“Oh, I can go hunt for something if you want. Like I said, I’m not very good, but I’m sure I could manage to catch a few fish.”_

_“Yeah, and once you catch them, how do you eat them?”_

Cas squinted his eyes and cocked his head, confused by the man’s question. _“We take bites from the fish until it is gone. I’ve seen humans eat, it’s the same way you eat.”_

Castiel could hear the sound of Dean’s laughter echoing in his head. He couldn’t fathom what Dean found so funny. _“I don’t need you to explain the process of eating. I meant to emphasize the fact that you guys must eat it raw whereas us humans tend to cook our food first. I mean there are some fish that you can eat uncooked, but I’m not a big sushi fan myself.”_

 _“What is sushi? Yes, we can’t start a fire to cook our food like you Dean so the only way to eat our food is raw. It really isn’t that bad.”_ Cas seemed a little perturbed that Dean was laughing at him.

 _“Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sure to you, raw fish isn’t that bad, but like I said, not really my thing. And sushi is a type of human food made from fish and eels and other stuff that can be served raw, but some of it is cooked. My brother loves the stuff. I’m more of a burger guy myself,”_ Dean explained.

_“I’ve seen humans eating burgers, but I’ve never had one since I had no way of asking for one.”_

_“Dude, we are so going back to my house and I am cooking us burgers. You’re gonna love it,”_ Dean said enthusiastically.

He stood up and helped Cas to his feet. He quickly changed into his clothes, which were still a little damp, before walking out of the cave. He studied the beach around him before walking off to the right. Cas followed along silently, hoping Dean knew where he was going. They walked for about a mile before a pier came into sight.

Dean grabbed Cas’ hand, _“See the pier. That building next to it is the marine institute that I work at. My car is parked there. I am going to have to stop at the institute, though, and let them know I’m ok and not dead at sea. I think it would be best if you waited in the car because I’m not sure how I would explain your presence to my boss.”_

Cas chewed on his lip nervously. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being separated from Dean. He had seen cars before but had never ridden in them. Honestly, they frightened him with how loud and fast they were.

_“Cas, you ok?”_

_“I am afraid to be in a car without you. They kind of scare me.”_

_“You’re just gonna sit in it while I go inside. It won’t go anywhere until I start it up. You’ll be fine, I promise.”_

Dean felt something flutter in his chest when Cas looked at him with those big blue eyes so full of innocence. It should be impossible, but they had already formed a profound bond between them.

_“As long as it won’t go anywhere without you, then I will wait in your car. I don’t want you getting in trouble with the other humans.”_

A bright smile lit up the Dean’s face. _“Thanks Cas and like I said, it won’t go anywhere without the key. C’mon, let’s go so we can get home and eat.”_

Castiel had seen many different types of cars, but nothing could have prepared him for the vehicle that Dean introduced him to. It was a gigantic black beast and Cas was intimidated by it the moment he caught sight of it.

Dean motioned to the vehicle, his chest puffed up slightly and a smile was plastered to his face. _“Cas, this is Baby. I bought her as a present to myself after I graduated college. She is my pride and joy besides my brother Sam.”_

Cas didn’t know what to say and kept looking between the car and Dean. He didn’t want to hurt his new friend’s feelings and so he kept silent.

_“Cas?”_

_“I’m sorry Dean, but I really have no clue what to say. I’ve never seen a car like this. I guess I like the look of it more than most of the cars I have seen. Sirens have no use for something like this, so I don’t really have an opinion on it. Obviously, you are proud of it, so if you like it then I can like it as well.”_

Dean cupped Cas’ cheek, his eyes softening as he looked at him. _“Cas, it’s ok. I get it. You aren’t going to hurt my feelings.”_

_“Thank you, Dean.”_

Dean gave a small shake of his head. He went to reach for his keys when he realized one very important fact. Since he was still holding Cas’ hand, the man heard his thoughts. _“Shit, my keys are in my locker inside. I can’t just leave you standing out here, that will look more suspicious than you just walking inside with me. Are you ok with going into the institute?”_

Castiel shrugged, _“I don’t care one way or the other. Whatever will be easiest for you.”_

Dean didn’t reply, instead walking towards the institute, dragging Cas behind him. They used the employee entrance and Dean started walking down a series of hallways that Cas could never hope to memorize. They came to a stop outside of a closed door and Dean knocked on it.

“Come in,” a voice shouted from the other side.

They walked inside and Cas saw an elderly human sitting on the other side of a large wooden desk. When he looked up and caught sight of Dean, he gasped before getting up and coming to stand in front of them, his jaw hanging open. He pulled Dean into a tight hug.

“Dean, is that you? Alistair said you were thrown overboard last night. I’ve got three crews out looking for your ass and here you come walking into my office. What the hell happened?” The man was all but screaming.

Cas watched as Dean started signing to the man. His hands were moving rapidly, and Cas wondered if he would ever be able to sign like that. After a minute or two, Dean finally stilled his hands.

“You don’t remember anything last night after you fell from the ship? It’s a miracle you washed up on the beach. It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad you’re ok. Have you been checked by a doctor yet?” Dean shook his head. “I want you to head down to Benny then and get checked out. I want to make sure you’re ok.”

Dean started signing but stopped when the man held a hand up. “Don’t ‘Bobby’ me. You take your ass to Benny and get a clean bill of health or else I’m pausing your research for at least a month.”

Dean stomped his foot and glared at Bobby, but the man refused to relent. After a few seconds, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He signed something to the man, causing a small smile to appear on his face.

“Good. Who is this? I’ve never seen him around before,” he asked, nodding in Cas’ direction.

Dean made a few quick gestures, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Bobby cocked an eyebrow, “Boyfriend, huh? You just happened to run into him?”

Dean replied to the question and Cas wished they were touching so he knew what was being said.

Obviously, whatever Dean signed didn’t convince his boss. “So, you’re telling me that your boyfriend just happened to be out on a stroll on the beach and ran into you? Any specific reason why he isn’t wearing shoes?”

Cas moved so that he could wrap an arm around Dean, allowing their skin to be touching. His mind was flooded with the other man’s thoughts.

_“Shit, why would Cas be on the beach but not have shoes with him? Why didn’t I just tell him he was some stranger I ran into?”_

_“Tell him I was staying with a friend who lives on the beach, so I went without shoes and then ran into you. You told me what happened, and I was too concerned about you to go get shoes.”_

Dean signed what his “boyfriend” suggested, hoping his boss would buy it.

“Why not just take you back to his friend’s house? Hell, the first place you should have gone was to a doctor!”

_“Tell him you refused to go even after I tried to convince you. You said you felt fine and I agreed to let you come back here to pick your car up as long as I came with you so I could keep watch over you.”_

Bobby still didn’t seem entirely convinced but let it go and reminded him to go see Benny before dismissing them. Once outside the office, Dean leaned against the wall and sighed heavily.

_“Shit, that was close Cas. I don’t know why he was being all suspicious like that. Bobby is like a second father to me. He is definitely a hard ass, but that was weird, even for him. C’mon, let’s go see Benny so we can get home.”_

Castiel followed behind quietly. It took fifteen minutes for Benny to examine Dean. The doctor was surprised that Dean didn’t seem to have any lasting injuries but let Dean off with a warning to relax and take it easy for a few days.

They stopped by Dean’s locker so he could get his stuff and were on the way out when Cas saw something that caught his eye. He tugged on Dean’s hand, forcing him to follow. They came to a stop outside of a room where two humans were inside with a seal that seemed to be sick.

_“What are they doing Dean?”_

_“Bella, there, has been sick for a while. We can’t figure out what is wrong with her. She quit eating and has lost a lot of weight. They are going to run a couple more tests, but if they can’t figure it out, they’ll have to put her to sleep so she isn’t suffering.”_

Dean was surprised when Cas walked away from him and right into the room with the seal and other researchers. They started shouting at him, but he ignored them and walked up to put a hand on the seal’s side. Dean rushed into the room and started signing, trying to calm his colleagues down.

“Dean, what the hell is going on, who is that and what is he doing,” the redheaded woman shouted.

He quickly signed, “Sorry, Charlie. That’s Cas and he really loves seals and got upset when I told him you might be putting Bella down. I’ll just grab him and go.”

He grabbed his friend’s hand and tugged, but Cas didn’t move. He turned his head so he could look at Dean. _“Has anyone checked her mouth? She said she has a bone stuck in her jaw in between her teeth. It hurts too much for her to eat.”_

_“How in the world did you know that?”_

_“I can talk to her the same way I talk to you.”_

Dean wanted to ask more questions but now wasn’t the time. He turned back towards Charlie and signed, asking her if they had ever checked Bella’s mouth.

She frowned, “We glanced in her mouth, but everything seemed ok. Why?”

“Look again, and check in between her teeth,” he signed.

The redhead seemed skeptical but did as asked, palpating in the seal’s mouth before letting out a gasp. She pulled back, “She has something embedded in her jaw between her teeth. It feels like an abscess has formed. No wonder she hasn’t been eating. We will need to sedate her so we can figure out what’s stuck in there. Dean, what made you think to check her mouth?”

He shrugged and signed, “Just a lucky guess. Love to stay and talk but Cas and I have stuff to do. See you guys later.”

He pulled Cas out the room and quickly headed back to Baby. Both men sighed in relief when they were settled in the car. Dean put the key in the ignition and started the car up. At the rev of the engine, Castiel jumped so high he banged his head on the roof of the car. He struggled to get the door open before falling out onto the concrete.

Dean cursed inside his head before getting out and rushing to Cas’ side. He touched the man on the shoulder, trying not to frighten the man further. _“Castiel, hey, it’s ok. It’s just the engine. I’m sorry, I should have warned you. You’re ok, moonshine.”_

Cas tried to stop the tremors that were wracking his body. He leaned into Dean heavily, wanting the comfort. Dean gladly wrapped an arm around him. _“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so loud. We don’t have sounds like that in the ocean and it frightened me.”_

_“I didn’t mean to upset you, moonshine. Are you ok to get back inside?”_

_“Yeah, I think so.”_

They both got settled back in the car and this time Cas didn’t jump as bad. He still flinched, but Dean placed a light kiss to his knuckles which helped to calm him down. They pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards Dean’s house.

On the way home, Cas asked, _“You called me ‘moonshine’. Why?”_

Dean blushed a deep shade of red, helping to highlight his freckles. _“It’s what’s called a pet name. I don’t have to call you that if you don’t want me to. Most people have a pet name for their significant other like ‘baby’ or ‘sweetheart’ or ‘sunshine’.”_

_“What is a significant other? Is it like a boyfriend or girlfriend?”_

_“Yeah or if you’re in any kind of relationship really.”_

_“Are we in a relationship Dean? I know you told Bobby I was your boyfriend, but I understand that you were lying to him.”_

Dean chanced a look at his companion. Cas was looking at his fingers which were twitching nervously. A light blush stained his cheeks and he was sitting tensely. _“I really wish I wasn’t lying to him.”_

Castiel’s head shot up, blue eyes wide as he finally looked at Dean. _“You wish to be in a relationship with me?”_

 _“Yeah Cas I do. It might be ridiculously fast, but there’s just something about you that draws me in. These past few hours with you have been some of the best of my life. I’m not ready to give you up yet…moonshine.”_ Dean spoke softly and tenderly in his mind, wanting Cas to feel what he was feeling.

_“I’m not ready to give you up either. I would very much like to be your boyfriend. I like the pet name too. Why did you call me that, I’ve never heard a human call someone that.”_

_“You’ve lit up my life like the moon lights up the sea at night. I’ve always preferred the night and the moon,”_ he explained as he continued to drive.

Dean caught the smile that lit up Cas’ face from the corner of his eye. He didn’t mind one bit when Cas curled up next to him, his cheek resting on his shoulder. They spent the rest of the drive in silence but no words were needed between them. 

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to a small house in a quiet neighborhood. Cas looked around at all the different houses on the street, having never been outside the main city. He had to admit he did like Dean’s the most. It was a modest two-story red brick house with lots of windows facing the road. Dean gave him a quick smile before getting out of the car. He waited for Cas to join him before heading inside.

They walked into the kitchen and Dean motioned for him to have a seat, but Cas wanted to explore. He wanted to learn as much about his new boyfriend as possible. The fridge was decorated with lots of pictures of Dean and various friends. He recognized Bobby, Charlie, and Benny in some, but a lot of the pictures were of Dean and a tall brown-haired man.

He pulled one off the fridge and looked at it before walking over to Dean and showing him the picture. _“Who is this?”_

Dean had just stuck some frozen hamburger meat in the microwave to defrost and was pulling a countertop grill out of a cabinet. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes suddenly shone with happiness. _“That’s Sammy, my little brother.”_

_“Dean, he is taller than you.”_

_“He is but he is younger than me, so he is called my little brother. He actually lives with me too, but went on a trip to go to some convention for one of his college classes. He will be back in a few days.”_

_“You two seem very close. Do you have any pictures of your parents?”_

_“Yeah, let me get this grill warming up and I’ll show you.”_

Cas nodded before putting the picture back on the fridge. He looked at some of the other things Dean had pinned to his fridge. He could tell the man had a thing for old cars since a lot of his magnets were shaped like different automobiles. He saw pictures of different sea creatures but the majority of them were leopard sharks. Cas felt a warmth bubble up in his chest at seeing that.

He was startled when an arm wrapped around his waist and a hand reached out and pulled a picture off the fridge and showed it to him. _“These are my parents. Mary and John Winchester. Dad passed away a few years ago from cancer. Mom lives here in town. I’ll have to make plans with her to come over so I can introduce you guys.”_

_“I’m sorry about your dad. I would like to meet your mom one day.”_

_“She’s pretty awesome. Her and dad gave up so much when we were growing up so that Sam and I could get into college. We both ended up getting scholarships that paid for our entire tuition which was a big help for our parents. She took dad’s death pretty hard. Sam and I have begged her to move into a smaller place, but she refuses to leave the house we grew up in. Too many memories she said.”_

Dean replaced the picture and then went and grabbed the hamburger meat out of the microwave and started shaping it into hamburger patties. In minutes, two large burgers sat on the plate. He turned around and nearly ran into Cas.

_“Woah, Cas. Personal space”_

_“Sorry Dean. Is there anything I can do to help?”_ Cas asked eagerly.

Dean nodded and gave him directions on how to turn the oven on and put some fries on a pan and then put them in the oven to cook. He showed Cas how to make the burgers and how to cook them on the grill. Twenty minutes later they sat at the kitchen table to enjoy their meal.

Castiel took a bite of the burger and moaned. He reached across to touch Dean’s hand. _“These make me very happy. I have never had something so delicious. Thank you for cooking them for me.”_

_“You’re welcome Cas. Glad you like them so much.”_

Once they were done eating their meal, they cleaned the kitchen up together. Once that was finished, Dean led Cas into the living room and settled on the couch. _“Have you ever had the opportunity to watch TV?”_

Cas shook his head. _“I have seen them through windows though.”_

_“Well, then it’s time I introduced you to the wonder of Netflix and Chill! I’ll even let you pick out what we watch.”_

Dean pulled up Netflix and showed Cas how to work the remote. He spent a good ten minutes going through all the different programs that the streaming service had to offer. When he finally picked a movie, he heard Dean groan in his head.

He turned his head to look at him, an eyebrow cocked. _“Is there something wrong with what I picked?”_

_“Not necessarily. It’s just The Little Mermaid is typically for kids. Hell, the last time I watched it Sam was still in diapers.”_

Cas frowned. _“Oh, well, we don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to. I just wanted to see how humans imagine sirens to be.”_

_“We can watch it but just a warning, it ain’t even close to you moonshine. Before you start it, let me go get us some soda and popcorn to munch on while we watch it.”_

Cas quickly found out how correct Dean had been. Within the first five minutes of the movie, he was already pointing out inaccuracies, such as the fact that sirens were predators of great whites and not the other way around. Dean couldn’t help but chuckle and stare at his boyfriend. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that sirens didn’t seem to form close bonds even though they lived in groups.

Though the movie was highly inaccurate, Castiel did find himself enjoying it. Mainly because of the romance between Ariel and Eric, something he himself had always dreamed of. He had heard humans complain before of how unrealistic it was for a person to fall for someone with just one look, but he found that he was experiencing that with Dean. Already, he was deeply attached to the man. He wasn’t looking forward to leaving him behind when he returned to the water.

Dean seemed to realize that Cas was off in his head. _“Cas, babe, are you ok? What are you thinking about so hard?”_

 _“Babe, is that another pet name?”_ Dean nodded. _“I like moonshine better, but babe is ok. I wish to call you something.”_

_“There are generic names like sweetheart and baby. Some people choose a pet name based on something that reminds them of their partner.”_

Cas reached out and cupped the Dean’s jaw, his eyes raking over the man in front of him. _“Freckles. It was the first thing I noticed about you when I really looked at you. Would you mind if I called you that?”_

_“You can call me whatever you want, but I like freckles.”_

Castiel was silent, his gaze dropped to the other man’s lips and back up to his eyes. _“Dean, there is something I wish to do to you.”_

_“What’s that?”_

_“I would really like to kiss you, if you’re willing of course.”_

Dean’s face broke into a huge smile and a light blush coated his cheeks. _“Oh, trust me, moonshine, I’m very willing.”_

_“I don’t know what to do, freckles.”_

_“That’s ok, I’ll show you.”_

Dean reached out and gently cupped Cas’ jaw with both hands. He used his thumbs to rub small circles into the skin. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead. He then trailed kisses down the right side of his face to the corner of his mouth and then repeated the motion on the left side. He placed another tender kiss right on the tip of his nose.

_“Dean, please, quit teasing.”_

Dean chuckled softly, _“Patience moonshine. I want to make this good for you.”_

Finally, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Cas’. He pressed another, slightly firmer kiss to the pink lips. He was caught off guard when Castiel pushed forward and pressed their mouths together insistently. He wrapped one arm around Dean’s waist and tangled his hand in Dean’s hair.

Dean moved one hand to cup the back of Cas’ neck and the other to pull him even closer to his body. He broke the kiss just so they could breathe before pressing their mouths together again. Cas’ lips were thin and chapped, but Dean had never enjoyed kissing someone so much. He tentatively slipped his tongue out to slide against Cas’ lips. He took advantage of the slight gasp and slipped inside the other man’s mouth.

Their tongues touched cautiously until Cas grew more comfortable and Dean started exploring the steamy cauldron of Cas’ mouth. He felt him shiver with pleasure and then Caa was reciprocating too, sliding his tongue into Dean’s mouth.

They continued to make out until they had to break apart, both panting for breath. They leaned their foreheads against one another while their eyes remained locked. Cas had a huge gummy smile causing his nose and eyes to wrinkle. Dean smiled right back, although it was a little more reserved.

_“That was definitely very good, freckles. I would like to do that more often, but I think it is causing a problem with this form.”_

_“What do you mean, are you ok,”_ Dean asked, his smile was quickly replaced with a look of concern.

Cas dropped his hand and Dean tracked the motion, understanding quickly dawning. Cas’ erection could be seen tenting the skirt that covered his legs.

 _“My, uh, what do humans call it again? Oh, penis. My penis is hard, and it’s never done that before Dean. Am I ok?”_ Cas asked with wide eyes and a pout.

Dean couldn’t help but bowl over in silent laughter. Cas’ expression was confused and adorable all at the same time. When he regained his composure, he sat back up to see the other man glaring at him. _“I’m sorry, moonshine, but you just looked so confused. You are fine, that’s a normal male response. It’s called an erection, it's a sign of arousal. It means your body is ready and willing for sex. Do you not have a penis as a siren?”_

Dean nearly jumped off the couch when Cas pulled his skirt up exposing his hardened cock. He studied it, poking and prodding as if trying to determine what it was. He gasped as he touched himself, not realizing how good it would feel. A few drops of precum beaded out the slit and he wiped it off with his fingers. He held them up to the human. _“Dean, what is this substance coming out of my penis? Is it supposed to feel so electric when I touch myself?”_

Dean was leaning away from him, doing his best to keep his eyes averted. His lips were a deep red from biting on them. He reached out and gently pushed Cas’ hand into his lap and pulled his skirt down, covering his cock. _“Cas, you can’t just go showing your penis to anybody and everybody. Not exactly acceptable behavior among humans.”_

_“I’ve only ever shown it to you Dean, and I thought we were in a relationship. I don’t know all the intricacies of human relationships, but I know if you are…dating someone, then it is ok for the person to see your body.”_

Dean’s shoulders slumped in a silent sigh. _“There are different stages of a relationship Cas. We haven’t exactly gotten to the whole seeing each other naked stage yet. I hope we get there, but for now, let’s keep our clothes on, ok?”_

_“Ok. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. My kind don’t do relationships; they are interested in one-night stands only and for sex to occur, humans must remove their clothes and expose themselves to their partners.”_

Cas had dropped his head, afraid that Dean was upset with him. Dean forced his chin back up, a small smile on his face. _“Moonshine, you aren’t just a one-night stand for me. I want us to be in a real relationship and I want to teach and show you everything, but at our own pace. We may go faster or slower than others, but it’s what we are comfortable with. You’re special Cas and I’m going to treat you as such.”_

Castiel smiled one of his gummy smiles before throwing his arms around Dean and hugging him tightly. _“You’re special to me too, freckles. Thank you for being patient with me.”_

 _“You’re welcome. To answer your question, it’s called precum that’s coming out. It’s the predecessor to semen or ejaculate which comes out when you reach orgasm. It’s completely normal and nothing is wrong with you. I think you are just more sensitive since you are basically a virgin,”_ Dean explained matter of factly.

Cas tilted his head, “ _What is an orgasm? I have never had any kinds of sexual relations so yes; I am a virgin. Are you ok with that?”_

 _“Of course, I am. I can’t say I’m a virgin, but I like the idea of being able to share all your firsts with you. An orgasm is when the arousal is so high that it just erupts, and waves of pleasure flood your body. I can’t wait for you to experience your first one. I’m gonna make it so good for you, moonshine,”_ Dean described, his voice tender even inside of their head.

Cas gave him a gentle kiss, enjoying the feel of their lips against one another. _“I look forward to it. In answer to your question, I don’t have a penis like this. I also have two. It would be easier to show you if there was water around.”_

_“Does it have to be salt water?”_

_“No, just a large enough source for me to change in.”_

_“I have a pool and a large privacy fence so nobody would be able to see you. I think I might have an idea though. Give me a second to pull up a picture on my phone.”_ He pulled his phone out and after a quick search, he held it up for Cas to look at. _“Do you have something like these?”_

Castiel took a quick look and nodded his head. _“Yes, exactly like those. Mine are bigger than that and are inside my body most of the time, but yes. I have no idea what to call them though, as they are not like a human penis and the females don’t have them.”_

 _“They are called claspers and are basically a shark’s form of a penis. Female sharks have what’s called a cloaca and male sharks insert their claspers to deposit sperm inside. Do female sirens have something like this?”_ Dean pulled his phone away to pull up another picture to show Cas.

_“Yes, they do. That is where their babies come out of. We just call it the birth channel, not a cloaca. I guess it makes sense that we would have shark parts since we do have shark tails.”_

_“I guess it does.”_ Dean yawned, stretching his hands high above his head. _“I don’t know about you but I’m tired and ready to hit the hay.”_

_“I am tired now that you point that out. Do you have a place for me to sleep?”_

The younger man blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t touching Cas. He gnawed on his lip and looked everywhere but at the man sitting in front of him. _“I was thinking you could sleep in my bed with me. That is if you wanted to of course. You can always sleep on the couch or in Sam’s room or…”_

_“Dean, it’s fine. I would rather sleep with you. Do you have a change of clothes I could borrow? I will need to go back to the cave and gather the rest of the clothes I have collected.”_

_“Yeah, I have some extra boxers and since you said you don’t like pants, I will give you one of my t-shirts to sleep in.”_

Cas suddenly grimaced and put his hand over his stomach. _“Dean, I think I am experiencing another human bodily reaction. I have a lot of pressure in my stomach and in my penis and I feel like I need to let it go.”_

_“You probably have to pee Cas. I guess if you’ve never stayed human for more than a few hours, you would never have had to go to the bathroom. C’mon, I’ll tell you what to do.”_

Dean had to admit that telling a grown man how to stand over a toilet and hold his cock out so that he could urinate was one of the weirdest things he ever done. It was even weirder to explain about pooping on the toilet. He was glad when that conversation was over. His whole face hurt from blushing so much.

Eventually, both men got dressed for sleep and settled into the bed, Cas curled up with Dean’s arms wrapped around him. _“This is nice, freckles. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed. Sirens never show this kind of affection, even with their babies.”_

_“Not to be mean, Cas, but being a siren seems really lonely.”_

_“I think it’s one reason why I liked coming to land so much. Even if I didn’t have any friends, I felt less alone when surrounded by humans than my own kind.”_

_“As long as you’ll have me, moonshine, you’ll never be alone again.”_

Cas snuggled closer, slotting his butt against Dean’s pelvis and his back against the man’s chest. He looked over his shoulder and Dean leaned forward to kiss him. It was an odd angle for Cas, but the feel of Dean’s lips on his were worth it. They drifted off to sleep, both content and happy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas get to know each other better. Cas and Sam's first meeting doesn't go as planned and neither does his first time meeting Jo and Ellen. What happens when one of Dean's colleagues becomes suspicious of some mysterious tracks they found in the sand?

Castiel was the first one to wake the following morning. He had the same pressure in his stomach as the previous night and hurried into the bathroom to relieve himself. When he walked out, he found Dean had woken up and was staring at him. He lifted the blanket and Cas slid in next to him. They met in the middle as their lips pressed against each other.

 _"You better realize how much I already care about you moonshine. I don't wake up before the sun rises for just anybody,"_ Dean teased.

 _"I'm sorry for waking you up,"_ Cas quickly apologized.

Dean smiled softly as he ran his fingers through Cas' hair. _"It's ok. If this is the way you always wake me up, then we're good."_

As they made out, Cas could feel himself getting hard again and he pulled away. _“I’m sorry Dean, but I feel my penis getting erect again.”_

 _“It’s ok moonshine. We can take a break for a bit. Don’t think you’re the only one unaffected. You make me feel like a teenager again.”_ He placed one more chaste kiss to the man’s lips. _“C’mon, why don’t I go fix us some breakfast and then we will go back down to your cave and bring back any of your stuff that you want.”_

Cas nodded before following his boyfriend out the room. Dean was finding that Cas was very curious and wanted to learn as much as he could. He practically demanded that Dean show him how to make breakfast. He even declared that he wanted to try making it the next morning.

As they were cleaning up, Cas got very lightheaded and would have fallen if Dean hadn’t caught him. He picked him up and carried him into the living room and deposited him on the couch. _“Cas, are you ok? What happened?”_

Castiel scratched at his skin which had started itching. Dean saw the motion and pulled Cas’ arm closer to inspect the skin. He was surprised at how dry his boyfriend’s arm was. He glanced down at the other man’s body and observed that Cas’ legs looked even drier than his arms.

_“Moonshine, your skin is really dry. What’s going on?”_

_“I think I might have been out of the water for too long. I’ve never been out for more than a few hours and I’m going on almost two days. I need to go back to the ocean.”_

_“What if I put you in the pool? You said it doesn’t matter what kind of water for you to transform.”_

Cas shook his head. _“I can transform in any water, but only the salt water will rejuvenate us. This has happened with clan members before.”_

_“Ok, let me put some clothes on and let’s get you dressed in your clothes. Then we’ll head to the cave so you can go back in the water.”_

Dean pulled Cas off the couch and helped him to the room. Uncaring of their nudity and more concerned with Cas’ health, Dean got both of them dressed in record time. He grabbed his keys and his phone and then hurried out the door. It took half an hour to get to the parking lot at the beach. Castiel had gotten worse and Dean was growing more and more concerned.

He half carried his boyfriend down to the beach. Cas’ skin was now peeling on his arms and legs and he grunted with pain as he moved. _“Moonshine, do you want to go in the water here? It will take another twenty minutes to get back to the cave since I’m carrying you.”_

 _“Cave, more private. I can bear the pain,”_ Cas groaned.

Dean wanted to argue, but it would waste valuable time. He hurried as fast as he could to their cave and he was glad when it came in sight. He looked around, ensuring that nobody else was on the beach. He set Cas down at the shore and helped him strip out of his clothes. He took his boots off and then supported Cas into the water until he was deep enough to dive into the sea.

When Cas resurfaced, he had a tail instead of legs. He swam up to Dean who couldn’t help but run his hand down the patterned tail. He had seen dozens of leopard sharks, but Cas had the most beautiful markings he had ever laid eyes on. He watched with a dopey smile as his boyfriend swam around him before heading out into deeper waters. Already the chill of the water was getting to him and he motioned for Cas to come over.

_“Moonshine, I’m gonna go sit on the sand. This water is practically freezing to me.”_

_“Ok, don’t go too far though.”_

_“I’m not, I’ll be right on the edge of the shore. Go enjoy your swim.”_

__

Dean headed back to the beach and sat on the sand and just enjoyed watching Cas cut through the water. He thought next time he would bring a snorkel and wetsuit and go swimming with his boyfriend. Maybe he would borrow Bobby’s boat and they could head into deeper water so Dean could scuba dive with Cas. Cas swam for a few minutes before coming back to Dean.

_“I need to go to my clan and let them know I’m ok. I’ve never been gone this long. I should be back in a little bit.”_

_“Alright, I’ll be in the cave. Don’t take too long.”_

_“I won’t, I promise.”_

Dean leaned over and kissed him. They shared a couple more kisses before Cas pushed away from the shore and dove into the ocean; he didn’t reappear. Dean grabbed Cas’ clothes and then walked to the cave. He settled down on the blankets and pulled his phone out to entertain himself while he waited.

Two and half hours later, Cas walked into the cave, water still dripping down his body. Dean looked up and smiled. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Cas. He quickly patted the siren dry before handing over a fresh pair of clothes for Cas to put on. It was another skirt, this time black and going all the way to the man’s ankles. He had picked out a bright yellow shirt with a bumble bee on it to match. He even handed Cas a pair of flip flops that he had previously collected.

Dean didn’t care that his boyfriend preferred women's clothes; Cas was gorgeous. His shaggy black hair, bright blue eyes, strong jaw, high cheekbones, and smooth skin captivated him in a way no other person ever had. He was as different from Dean as night and day. Dean had sandy blonde hair, dark green eyes, plump lips, bowlegs, and freckled skin. No matter how often he shaved, he seemed to always sport a five-o-clock shadow. Dean was also much more masculine in his choice of clothes: boots, jeans, ACDC shirt, and red flannel.

He pulled Cas into his arms and kissed him deeply. He didn’t care if they were polar opposites, somehow, they fit together like a key into a lock. Never in his life had another person looked at him the way Cas did. It was as if Dean had hung the sun and the moon.

_“Did you find your clan?”_

_“I did. I honestly can’t understand why I was so concerned with going to them. They hardly realized I was gone. My mother figured I went to land and just hadn’t come back. I heard others whisper about how they thought I had finally left the clan for good.”_

Dean knew Cas tried not to seem upset by his clan’s treatment towards him, but he couldn’t hide it. He stared at the ground with his shoulders slumped, and his voice dripping with sadness. Cas was a gentle and loving soul living in a world of harsh and indifferent creatures.

_“Moonshine, I’m sorry for their behavior. I wish they could care for you the way you desire. You deserve so much more than what they give you.”_

_“Thank you, freckles. They can’t give me what I truly want, but I think you can. That’s all I really need,”_ Cas replied, wrapping his arms around Dean’s waist and resting his cheek against the man’s chest.

Dean absentmindedly ran his fingers through Cas’ thick locks. They stayed that way for a few moments until Cas pulled away and headed towards the back of the cave. They quickly packed up his small collection before exiting the cave and walking back to Baby. Cas made sure to leave some clothes behind as his clan knew the cave was a safe place to transform when they came to land looking for a mate.

 _“Hey, you wanna go to the mall and get you some more clothes? You don’t have a lot and there are some things you’re definitely missing,”_ Dean suggested as he started the car’s engine.

Cas still flinched at the sound. _“I’ve always wanted to go to the mall. I’ve heard humans talk about it often. I would like to have a few more options in clothes. Do you have the money?”_

 _“Yeah, moonshine I do. The institute pays better than most. Don’t worry about it,”_ Dean reassured his boyfriend.

 _“Ok. Do you want me to change into the pair of pants that I have?”_ Cas asked timidly.

Dean glanced at Cas, worry in his eyes. _“Do you want to? Is that skirt not comfortable?”_

Cas picked at the hem of his shirt as he explained, _“It is, but there are always some humans who point at me and laugh because I like to wear women’s clothing. If I wear jeans, you won’t have to be embarrassed to be seen with me.”_

They had just pulled into the mall's parking lot and Dean stopped in a spot near the back to ensure nobody would hit Baby. He cut the engine and then turned so that he could face his boyfriend. Cas was staring at the window, stubbornly not looking at Dean.

Dean forced the man to look at him. In a stern voice he said, _“I don’t give two shits if you wear a dress and high heels as long as you are comfortable and like what you’re in. I will never be embarrassed by what you do. I don’t want you to change just for me Cas; I would be a really shitty boyfriend to ask you to. If we go inside and all you get is women’s clothes, then that’s all you get. You pick out what you like, Cas, and don’t worry about if someone else will like it because I think you look hot in anything you wear.”_

Cas had tears falling down his cheeks at his boyfriend’s thoughtful words. He pulled Dean into a hard kiss, sliding his tongue inside the other man’s mouth. Their tongues battled for dominance before Cas quietly submitted and let Dean own his mouth.

They broke apart, both gasping for air. _“God Cas, the things you do to me.”_ Dean dropped his gaze and frowned. _“Moonshine, I’m all for you in that skirt, but it doesn’t really leave anything to the imagination.”_

Cas looked down as well. His semi-hard cock was easy to outline below the lacy material.

 _“I know there was a pair of underwear in the clothes you had. Maybe you should slip those on or else the jeans might be the better option,”_ Dean suggested with a smirk.

Cas rolled his eyes but told his boyfriend to grab the underwear. Dean placed another quick kiss on his cheek before getting out of the car to open the trunk. Once Castiel had put the clothing on, he slipped out of the car and the two headed inside.

Cas was completely overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds, and smells. He couldn’t keep his head still. His gaze flitted from one thing to another and Cas realized that they had walked in where the food court was located.

_“You ok, Cas?”_

_“Yes, just trying to take it all in. Sirens have better senses than humans and it’s overwhelming. I can smell about a hundred different things right now. Some stuff I can pick out like burgers, pizza, and cupcakes, but there are others I have no clue about. The noise is going to be the hardest thing to get used to, though. Even when a pod of dolphins comes through our clan’s territory, they aren’t this loud. The human world is so much more colorful than the ocean, it’s a little disorienting,”_ Cas described as he continued to look around.

_“Probably should have come in through a quitter entrance. This is the busiest spot in the mall. I guess if you can handle this, though, you can handle any of the stores easily.”_

Once he became adjusted, Dean took him to the different clothes stores that resided in the mall. He had to convince Cas to just look at what every store had to offer before they actually bought anything. After an hour, they were ready to go shopping.

It was easy to find things that Cas liked. He liked the Bohemian style clothing the most and Dean was glad there was a store that sold that kind of clothing specifically. He was even happier when the sales associate, Alice, took it in stride that Cas wanted skirts. She helped determine his size and then showed him a variety of patterns and materials. She also helped him pick out some shirts which he preferred the male style in. He got a few pairs of shoes, a few jackets, a couple scarves, some hats, and some jewelry.

The whole experience was even better when they realized the girl who was helping them knew sign language since her brother was deaf. She seemed to enjoy helping them as much as Cas was loving picking out clothes of his own. When they were finally ready for checkout, Dean made sure to leave her a huge tip. She thanked him profusely, but he just smiled and said she earned it. Cas was so excited to wear some of his new clothes that she offered him the changing room.

While he was changing, Dean signed to the woman, “Thank you for everything. My boyfriend is just starting to find himself and he was really worried about what people would say with his choice in clothing. You helped him in more ways than you know.”

“We should be able to enjoy our interests without people judging us. My best friend is a lesbian and dresses very masculine. Growing up, she got teased a lot. One chick even told her straight to her face to have a sex change since she thought she was a dude. I may have punched her in the face and told her to fuck off.” Alice chuckled at the memory.

“I’m glad you did; she deserved it. I know we just met but maybe we could all hang out sometime. It would be good for Cas to see someone so accepting of their tastes especially when they aren’t the stereotype.”

“I’ll ask her, but I’m sure she will say yes. I’ll give you my number so we can work something out.”

Cas walked out a few minutes later dressed in his new clothes. He was wearing a skirt that was multiple shades of green, a tan shirt, and a matching jacket and hat. He had his flip flops on from before but was now also wearing a shark tooth necklace. He walked over to Dean, a huge gummy smile on his face.

 _“Dean, I love it! It’s all so comfortable! Thank you so much! There were a few other things I saw that caught my eye but only if you have the money,”_ he asked, his voice hopeful.

_“Let’s take these bags out to Baby, and then you can show me the rest.”_

Cas placed a quick kiss to his cheek. They said goodbye to Alice and headed to drop their bags off at the car. It turned out the other store Cas really wanted to stop by was Hot Topic. There were shirts in there that caught his eye. They all had a grumpy cat on them, and he thought they were adorable. Dean let him get four since they were on sale.

There was one other thing that had caught Cas’ attention. Dean couldn’t help the blush that settled on his face when he showed him. It was a blue silk camisole with matching panties.

_“Isn’t it pretty, freckles? Oh, it’s so smooth as well! This was the last thing I saw, I promise.”_

Dean pulled Cas out the store quickly and led him to a bench to sit at. _“That might be something we have to order online at home, moonshine. Lingerie is something that usually only women buy in public or guys might buy them for their special ladies. I’m not saying we can’t get some, but I think it would be best if we did it at home.”_

Dean’s heart broke at seeing how sad his boyfriend looked. He glared before coming to a decision. _“Fuck gender norms, if you want that, then let’s go get it.”_

Cas tried to argue, but Dean ignored him, dragging him back inside the store. He marched back to the rack with the lingerie and gave Cas a quick glance, trying to best determine his size.

A woman walked over and asked if they needed any help. Dean pulled his phone out and typed something out for her to read: My boyfriend really likes this lingerie set, but I have no idea what size he would need.

Even though the woman was obviously shocked at Dean’s text, she smiled and looked Cas over. She pulled a small tape measure out her pocket and measured him across his chest and hips. She looked through the clothes that were hanging on the rack before pulling two pieces off. She showed them to the men.

“These should fit. The cami will definitely work, the panties I went a size up just to be on the safe side. Is there anything else that caught your eye? We are having a sale today. Buy one, get one free on the entire store.”

Dean looked at Cas with a raised eyebrow. He walked over to a black set that was made from lace. The lady found his sizes and asked if there was anything else. Cas shook his head and they headed to the register to pay.

“Alright, gentlemen, you’re all set. Please come again soon,” she said with a bright smile.

Dean nodded his head in thanks before they walked out the shop. They walked around a little while longer and ended up buying a few necessities such as socks and underwear. Cas even picked out a couple of sweats and pajama shorts to wear around the house. Once they were done with all their shopping, they walked out to Baby and headed home. They picked up a pizza to eat for lunch.

A few hours later they were settled on the couch watching another movie, this time it was the Lion King. It seemed Cas really liked animated movies. He was now wearing one of his grumpy cat shirts and a pair of shorts while Dean was in a shirt and sweats.

Once the movie was over, Dean decided there was something he wanted to ask Cas. After talking to Alice, he couldn’t get it off his mind.

_“Can I ask you a question?”_

_“You just did,”_ Castiel joked.

_“Haha, but seriously. I know you like skirts because they are more comfortable to you, but is that the only reason?”_

_“What other reason would there be?”_

_“I don’t know. Like if there were skirts made for guys, would you choose to wear them? Do you like to wear girl’s clothing to feel..uh..more like a girl?”_

_“Dean, are you asking if I wear women’s clothing because I want to be a girl?”_

The blonde rubbed at the back of his neck. _“Yes. I mean, I’m fine with that and all. Humans, well, we have ways of making you be more like a girl if you wanted to be.”_

Cas moved so that he was sitting up before reaching out and cupping the Dean’s jaw in his hands. He had a loving smile on his face. _“Dean, I have no desire to be female. I am quite happy being in a male body. Truthfully, I don’t really find a female’s body attractive. Too squishy and curvy. I wear women’s clothing just because I like it more. If there were skirts specifically for men, then I would wear them if they were comfortable to me.”_

_“Ok, I just want you to be as happy as possible.”_

_“Trust me, freckles, I am extremely happy right now.”_ He leaned over to capture Dean’s lips in a tender kiss.

Dean leaned back so he was lying on the couch and pulled Cas on top of him. The tender kiss turned heated and soon enough, Cas was grinding his hips against his boyfriend’s. He broke the kiss to let out a moan as he rested his forehead against Dean’s.

_“You look so beautiful sweetheart. How do you feel?”_

_“Electric! My penis is so hard and it’s leaking a lot! Every press against it shoots pleasure through me. It feels good Dean, so good!”_ He moaned again, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as Dean pushed his hips up, causing more friction against Cas’ erection.

Dean threw his head back as pleasure swept through his own body. He was close, but he wanted Cas to fall off the edge first. He reached a hand down and slipped it between their bodies so that he could rub against Cas’ cock who ground down harder, seeking more friction.

_“Let go, moonshine, just give into the pleasure!”_

Castiel hissed through his teeth before his body spasmed and his cock pulsed inside his underwear. _“Dean,”_ he shouted as he orgasmed.

Dean kept rubbing against his boyfriend until he collapsed against him. Cas was panting heavily as he rested on top of Dean.

He felt Dean’s erection poking against his hip. _“Freckles, you didn’t reach orgasm.”_

_“It’s ok, Cas, this was for you. I wanted you to experience your first orgasm and to watch you cum for the first time.”_

_“It was amazing Dean! I’ve never felt such ecstasy before. Please, let me do the same for you.”_

Dean had to admit that his boyfriend had a great puppy dog face. He pulled Cas’ hand until it rested on his own erection. He showed him how to apply pressure and give just the right amount of friction. Dean felt his orgasm crash through him in minutes, his back bowing slightly.

He slumped back on the couch, Cas above him, a smirk on his face. He pressed a kiss to his lips. _“You’re welcome.”_

_“Shut up smart ass. I told you, there’s something about you that gets me way more hot and bothered than most. Frotting on the couch hasn’t been enough to get me off in a long time.”_

_“Glad to know I’m not awful at such a vital human activity. I want to be able to bring you pleasure like you bring me.”_

_“You definitely didn’t suck at wringing an orgasm out of me. Just being with you is pleasurable. I don’t mind teaching you about sex. It’s kind of hot to watch you feel and learn everything for the first time,”_ Dean replied, a dopey smile plastered on his face.

Cas leaned over to press a chaste kiss to his mouth. As he pulled away, he grimaced at the feeling of the cooling semen in his underwear. _“Dean, can we go get cleaned up. My cum is drying up and I don’t like the feel of it.”_

Dean’s eyes went wide at his boyfriend’s words. _“Jeez Cas, you can’t say stuff like that!”_

Cas flinched back. _“I’m sorry but it really is uncomfortable.”_

Dean cupped Cas’ cheek. _“It’s ok. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just get caught off guard with how straightforward you are sometimes. I get it though; I’m sure sirens don’t have a lot of sarcasm or jokes.”_

 _“No, we don’t. We are constantly on alert for danger and prey so there isn’t time for joking,”_ Cas explained as he slipped off the couch and headed towards the bedroom.

Dean followed and pulled him into the bathroom. He told Cas to strip while he wet a washcloth. He handed the damp rag over and instructed the man to wipe all the dried semen off and then he could go put on fresh clothes. Once Cas was cleaned up, Dean quickly followed suit. When they slid into bed, Cas instantly curled into Dean’s body.

_“Thank you for today Dean. I had so much fun and really enjoyed getting to pick out my own clothes. Getting to experience my first orgasm was…uh.”_

_“Icing on the cake?”_ At Cas’ confused expression, Dean hastened to explain. _“It’s an expression that means that one more good thing got added to a bunch of already good things.”_

 _“Yes, my first orgasm was just icing on the cake of an already wonderful day.”_ Cas yawned and snuggled even closer to Dean’s warmth. _“Goodnight freckles.”_

_“Night moonshine. Sleep tight.”_

The next morning Dean and Cas were up early so that Cas could try his first attempt at making breakfast. He had been very observant the day before and Dean had to offer little help. After breakfast, Dean called the institute to ask about when he could return to work. Bobby told him he had to take a mandatory week off before being able to come back. He hadn’t really been upset since that meant he got to spend more time with Cas.

Once he was done with his call, he asked Cas if he wanted to go swimming in his pool. Castiel eagerly accepted, and Dean set a world record in changing into a pair of swim trunks. Once they were outside, Cas suddenly got very shy. He stood on the porch and kept looking around, refusing to go any further.

Dean had a concerned look on his face as he asked, _“Hey, what’s wrong?”_

_“What if somebody sees Dean? I don’t want to be turned into a test subject.”_

Dean reached out and rubbed his hands up and down the other man’s arms, trying to calm him. _“See that fence, it’s ten feet tall; nobody is able to see in here. You’re completely safe from prying eyes, but I understand if you’re still worried. We don’t have to do this.”_

_“No, I want to. As long as you’re sure nobody will be able to see me.”_

_“Promise, moonshine. You are completely safe here.”_

It seemed Dean had said the right thing as Cas visibly relaxed and stripped out of his clothes before diving into the pool. Dean watched in amazement as Cas shifted from human to siren. He studied the transition with the brain of a researcher even if he never intended for anybody else to ever know about it.

Cas’ legs were the first thing to start changing. They were forced together, and it was like the skin immediately stitched together into one long appendage. The multicolored scales came next, popping over his skin in rapid succession until the siren’s entire lower body was covered. The fins on his tail and back seemed to grow straight from his body until they were fully formed. The last things to appear were the webbing between his fingers and the gills on his neck. The whole transformation took less than a minute.

Cas swam to the edge of the pool so he could hoist his upper body out, his tail floating behind him. Dean walked over and kneeled in front of him. _“Would you mind if I got my camera and took some pictures of you? It’s my personal camera and nobody would ever see the pics, promise.”_

 _“You really like my siren form don’t you,”_ Castiel asked with a gummy smile.

 _“Moonshine, I love it! You are stunning,”_ Dean complimented with a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek.

 _“Go get your camera, freckles,”_ Cas replied with a roll of his eyes and a flick of his tail, causing water to splash on both of them.

Dean wiped the water off and kissed him one more time before going back into the house. He returned with the camera and started taking pictures of Cas. He took nearly a hundred pictures in all different poses until Cas finally said enough pictures. _“Get in here and swim with me!”_

Dean set his camera down carefully before jumping into the pool with a cannonball. When he surfaced, Cas was smiling at him. Dean swam over to his boyfriend who pulled him into his arms. As soon as they were touching, Cas’ rich laughter echoed in Dean’s head.

He was surprised at how strong the arms felt around him. _“Geez, you’ve got some serious strength in this form. Not saying you don’t as a human, but I can understand how you were able to carry my heavy ass to your cave.”_

_“Have you ever met a fat fish? We swim nearly all day except for when we sleep, and most of us sleep in short bursts, no longer than an hour or so. The ocean is an unforgivable place; there isn’t room to be lazy and unfit or else you will end up dead.”_

_“I guess that’s true. Well, you don’t have to worry about that in these waters. My pool is for fun and relaxation only!”_ Just to prove a point, Dean splashed his hands in the water soaking Cas in the process.

For the next couple of hours, they swam, played, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Once Dean grew tired, he sat on the pool's edge while Cas continued to frolic in the water. Finally, Cas swam over to do Dean, a bright smile on his face. Dean couldn't help but reach out and slide his fingers through Cas' wet hair. _"You're gorgeous moonshine, absolutely stunning,"_ Dean said softly before leaning forward and pressing a tender kiss to Cas' mouth. Cas gripped the edge of the pool and lifted his body further out of the water, his tail swishing lazily behind him.

They continued to make out and were so caught up in each other, they never heard anything until, “Dean, I’m ho- holy shit! What the fuck?” 

The two broke apart in surprise. Cas panicked and ducked under the water, swimming to the opposite side of the pool and curling himself into a ball on the bottom. It didn’t hide him from Sam’s eyes, but it was a natural instinct.

Dean glared at his brother. “Dammit Sam! Look, go back into the house and I’ll be there in a minute. Please, I’m begging you, don’t go anywhere,” the older Winchester brother signed.

“Dean, is that what I think it is,” Sam’s voice was full of astonishment.

“Cas isn’t a _what_ but a _who_. Just go inside and I will be in shortly to explain everything.”

Dean’s shoulders slumped in relief when his brother nodded and went into the house. He just prayed Sam didn’t go anywhere as he swam over to where Cas was huddled. He slid back into the pool and dove down until he could reach out and wrap his hand around Cas’ arm.

Cas looked at him, his eyes wide in panic. _“Dean, who is that? Is he going to say anything? Will he hurt me? I’m scared Dean!”_

Dean’s heart broke at the fear in Cas’ voice. _“Come up for air moonshine, and we will talk. I can’t hold my breath for that long.”_

Cas slowly unwound his body. He swept Dean up in his arms as he rose to the surface, their heads breaking through the water a moment later. He held on tightly to Dean who was his only lifeline at the moment.

Dean cupped Cas’ face in his hands, forcing their eyes to lock with each other’s. Cas’ were full of fear as he stared at his boyfriend. _“Cas, that’s my brother Sam. He went inside and I told him I would go in and explain. You don’t have to come with me, but I would like for you to get out of the pool and at least wait on the porch.”_

 _“No, Dean, don't leave me alone. I need you right now; I’m really scared,”_ Cas all but sobbed as he buried his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder.

Dean pulled him as close as possible, _“Ok, moonshine. I’m not going to leave you by yourself. Let’s get you dressed and go inside, ok?”_

 _“Will he hurt me?”_ Cas asked softly.

 _“I’ll kick his overgrown ass if he even tries. I don’t think he will; Sam’s a good guy Cas. I think you’re going to have to be more concerned with all the questions he will bombard you with once the shock wears off. He’s worse than me when it comes to learning about something new.”_ Dean chuckled in his head.

 _“Alright, let’s go,”_ Cas replied, trying to sound brave.

Dean got out first and then realized something. He had no idea how to get Cas out of the pool. He leaned down to touch the other man. _“Uh, how are we going to get you out? There aren’t any steps leading into this pool, just the ladder. I don’t think I will be able to lift you out.”_

 _“I can try and lift myself over the side and then you pull me out, but my tail is very heavy. We didn’t think this through very well,”_ Castiel huffed.

 _“I’ll be right back,”_ Dean replied quickly before heading into the house.

He found his brother sitting in the living room. Sam looked up when he heard the footsteps. Before he could say anything, Dean started signing.

“I need your help to get Cas out of the pool. I can’t lift him out on my own.”

Sam started to say something but shut his mouth and nodded. He followed his brother back outside. When the creature in the pool saw him, he swam backwards, terror on his face. Dean crouched down and held his hand out. The siren kept his eyes on Sam as he haltingly swam forward until his hand wound around Dean’s.

 _“It’s ok Cas. He won’t hurt you. We are going to need his help to get you out. I think between the two of us, we should be able to get you out,”_ Dean explained.

 _“Fine, just get me out of here, Dean,”_ Cas replied tonelessly.

Dean felt defeated at the emotionless voice. Cas was past panic at this point and he needed to get him out the pool now. He turned to Sam.

“We are both going to have to lift him up and drag him out. He has to be completely out the water to transform back into a human.”

“You want to drag a…a siren who has to be at least ten feet long out of a pool? Dean, he probably weighs more than the both of us combined. I don’t know if we will be strong enough,” Sam said skeptically.

Dean glared at his brother. “We have to try unless you have a better idea.”

“I have an improvement to your plan. Hold on.” Sam ran back into the house and returned carrying a few beach towels. “If we wrapped these around him like a sling and then pulled, we might be able to leverage it better. If that doesn’t work, we could always try one of us pulling him out and the other pushing his tail out while being in the pool.”

“Let’s try the sling thing first. I think it would be more comfortable for him.”

Dean explained the plan to Cas and he agreed to go with it. They decided to have one towel wrap around his chest and the other just below his pelvis. Dean took the towel around his upper body while Sam pulled at the towel around his tail.

“Alright, on three, pull,” Sam said through gritted teeth. Dean and Cas both nodded in understanding. “One, two, three!”

Both men pulled with all their might, trying to lift the siren out the pool. Dean was able to get Cas’ upper body out the water and then tried to help Sam pull the rest of him out. With a final tug, Cas’ tail flew from the pool, sending both men falling onto their butts. Sam groaned at having the scaly appendage land on top of him.

As soon as Cas was completely out of the pool, he shifted back to human. He heard Sam yelp but didn’t care as he walked over to his clothes and hastily pulled them on, uncaring if he still had water dripping down his body. Once he was clothed, he turned back to the brothers.

“You gotta warn somebody next time. I totally didn’t need to see you naked,” the younger Winchester complained.

Dean shouldered past his brother to walk to his boyfriend. Castiel fell into his arms instantly. Dean peppered kisses into his hair as he felt Cas’ body wrack with silent sobs.

_“It’s ok, moonshine. You’re safe; nothing is going to happen to you. I’m right here sweetheart.”_

_“No more going in the pool, Dean. If we want to go swimming, we’re going to the ocean!”_

_“Agreed. C’mon, let’s go inside and get you calmed down,”_ Dean said tenderly, placing another kiss to the wet hair.

Cas nodded against his chest. They walked inside and headed to the bedroom. Sam followed them until they reached the living room where he took a seat on the couch. The two men returned a few minutes later. They were in dry clothes and Cas had stopped crying.

Dean sat on the loveseat and his boyfriend curled into his lap. He didn’t say anything, wrapping his arms tightly around the still shaking siren. He looked at Sam and raised an eyebrow, the universal sign of “What?”

“Dean, I don’t even know where to start! I mean, there’s a siren, a real-life siren, sitting in our living room! They’re supposed to be fairytales and yet you two seem pretty comfortable with each other. How long have you known about him?” Sam asked.

“We’ve only known each other a couple of days. You know about the research trip I was going on. Well, Alistair decided to stay out way late and ignored my warnings of a storm coming in.”

“Wait, you were out on the ocean in that? Dean, you guys could have been killed! Please tell me Alistair got his ass chewed out,” Sam exclaimed.

Dean shrugged. “I have no idea. Truth is, I did almost die. I was thrown from the ship when a big wave swept me overboard. The next thing I know, I’m waking up wrapped in blankets with Cas sitting naked not even a foot away from me. Hell of a surprise. We quickly figured out neither of us could talk, but Cas has spent so much time around humans that he knows most of our spoken language and a little bit of it written. He was able to tell me he saved me and that he was a siren.

I didn’t believe him of course and asked him to show me, which he did, but we also discovered that if we’re touching, we can communicate telepathically. We had an instant bond between us and so Cas has been with me for the past few days. We are kind of, sort of…dating.” Dean blushed as he finished signing.

Sam sat there in stunned silence, trying to process everything his brother had just told him. Cas knew everything Dean had said since he had said it telepathically as he signed. Cas waited with bated breath to see how the younger Winchester would react.

“Ok. I’m just glad you’re ok. You could have died, so thank you Cas for saving him. I’m not going to tell anybody, I promise. You’re safe here,” Sam directed to the siren. Cas gave a quick nod of his head. “So, you guys are dating?”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Yeah bitch we are, got a problem with it?”

“You would be the one to fall in love with a siren who has a tail like a leopard shark which just happens to be your favorite animal, jerk,” Sam teased his older brother.

“Whatever. You’re really ok with all this? I know it’s a lot to take in,” Dean asked, still worried.

“Yeah, I am. I just want you to be happy, Dean, and if it takes a siren for that to happen, then so be it. If you need help with anything, just let me know. Please, no more trying to haul him out of the pool; that tail of his is fucking heavy,” Sam complained.

Dean and Cas smiled, laughter dancing in their eyes. Cas slowly slid from Dean’ lap and cautiously moved to sit beside Sam. He reached a hand out and hovered it over Sam. He looked at Dean who nodded in reassurance. He lightly touched Sam’s arm.

_“Thank you, Sam for accepting me. I appreciate you keeping my siren form a secret. I do not wish to be turned into a test subject.”_

Sam jumped, “Holy shit, you really can talk with your mind. That’s crazy!”

 _“It’s just one of the unique abilities of my kind. I’m sure you must have questions just as Dean did. I will answer any you have if you want,”_ he offered.

“Yeah, that would be awesome! I wish I could write it down, but I don’t want somebody accidentally finding my notes,” Sam replied enthusiastically.

“He told you he’d answer any questions you have, didn’t he?” Dean asked as he got up from the loveseat and came to sit beside Cas so he could be part of the conversation.

The next hour was spent with Cas answering all of Sam’s questions. Most of them were the same that Dean had asked. Some such as their pregnancy length and diet, even Dean wanted to know about.

After a while, Dean’s stomach growled. “Alright, enough questions. Let’s go get food. I’m starving.”

The three ended up going to a local restaurant: The Roadhouse. It was owned by a good friend, Ellen Harvelle and her daughter Jo. Ellen had known the Winchesters since Mary and John had moved there before the boys were even born. Jo grew up as a younger sister to the boys and they were very protective of her, not that she needed it. Jo had a rough and tumble attitude and had sent more than a few drunks flying out the bar.

Dean was exceptionally close to Ellen. After he had lost his voice, his parents had been so disappointed with themselves that for a few weeks they could barely be around him. During that time, Ellen had stood in for them. She had been the one to suggest that Dean learn sign language. She would practice every day after school with him and had even helped teach the rest of Dean’s family.

When the three of them walked inside, they were surprised to see it completely empty. The bar was always busy at night but during the day, it usually had a steady crowd. Jo lifted her hand up to welcome them and smiled when she saw who it was.

She headed over and gave each brother a hug before looking at Cas. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.”

“Jo, this is Cas, my boyfriend,” Dean signed before dropping a hand and intertwining it with Cas’.

She squealed and threw her arms around Dean’s neck. “Dee, that’s awesome! How long have you guys been dating? Why haven’t you brought him around before now?”

He waited for her to drop her arms before replying. “We’ve only been dating a few days. I’ve had a busy week, and this was the first time I could stop by.”

Jo was about to say something, but someone else’s voice split the air. “DEAN WINCHESTER!!!” Ellen came storming out the kitchen, her expression furious as she marched up to the small group. Dean paled at seeing the woman so angry. She completely ignored everyone but him.

“Why the hell did you not tell me you were thrown into the ocean during that awful storm? I had to listen to Bobby tell me the other night instead of hearing it from you! You could have been killed,” she fumed.

Dean winced as he looked at Ellen with a guilty look on his face. “I’m sorry Ellen. I’ve had a lot of stuff come up the past few days. I didn’t keep it from you intentionally.”

“What is so important that you forgot to tell me something like that? Have you told your mother yet?”

“Uh, no,” Dean replied, a sheepish smile on his face.

That earned him a hard smack to his head. “You idiot boy! You need to tell Mary, or she is going to be even more pissed with you!”

“I will, I promise. I’ve had a lot on my mind,” he tried to convince her.

“Yeah, like getting a new boyfriend. What did he do, rescue you or something,” Jo quipped.

It seemed Ellen finally noticed Cas standing next to Dean. “Boyfriend? This is what was so important?”

“He actually did kind of save me. Cas is a friend and he was spending the night at another friend’s house. He was taking a walk on the beach and found me all washed up. I was awake and disoriented when he did. He wanted to take me to the hospital, but I refused. He helped me get back to the institute and by the time we arrived, we decided to start dating,” Dean told a similar lie to the one he had told to Bobby.

It pained him not to tell Ellen and Jo the truth, but the fewer people who knew Cas’ secret the better. His safety was a top priority.

“You have got to be the most stubborn man I’ve ever met in my life.” She turned to glare at Cas. “And you, you should have known better than to listen to this idiot. The first thing you should have done was call an ambulance. He could have had a concussion or internal bleeding and could have died. What were you thinking?” she berated.

Dean felt his boyfriend tense next to him in fear. He backed up and tried to hide behind Dean’s taller frame. Dean glared at the woman in front of him. “Ellen, quit yelling at him. He really wanted to but…”

“But what Dean!”

He struggled to come up with something. _“Dean, do you trust her? It might be easier to tell her the truth.”_

 _“Cas, we need to keep your secret and let as few people know as possible. The more people who know, the more likely it is to get out,”_ Dean argued.

_“I understand, freckles, but it’s obvious she cares very much about you and I don’t think we are going to be able to convince her without telling her the truth.”_

Dean wanted to keep arguing but he had to grudgingly admit that Cas was probably right. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I’m waiting for an answer,” Ellen reminded them harshly.

“Ellen, who all is working today?”

“Don’t change the subject boy,” Ellen snapped.

Dean glared. “Just answer the question.”

“Nobody, just me and Jo since it’s so dead.”

“Dean, are you really thinking what I think you’re thinking?” Sam questioned.

The older Winchester nodded. “Yes, Cas said to tell her. Jo, can you go flip the signs to closed? We’re about to have a very important and private conversation.”

Jo looked to her mom who nodded at her to go ahead and do what Dean asked. Once done, Dean said they all needed to go to the kitchen, away from any prying eyes. He also asked Ellen to go turn off the surveillance cameras, not wanting this conversation to be recorded.

Finally, they were all gathered in the kitchen. Jo and Sam leaned against the oven, Ellen by the fridge, and Dean and Cas were standing in front of the counter holding hands.

Dean pulled away from Cas to sign, “You guys have to promise me that what I’m about to tell you, you won’t tell anyone else. It would put Cas in serious danger.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Ellen replied with a hard edge to her voice.

Dean shook his head and looked directly at the woman. “No, Ellen, I mean it. If you tell anyone, I will never talk to you again; you’ll be dead to me.”

Sam and Jo gasped at the admission. Ellen and Dean were having a stare down, the woman trying to determine if the man was serious. She must have realized he was.

She sighed, “I promise, neither Jo nor I will say anything.”

Dean wrapped his fingers around Cas’. _“You sure about this?”_

_“Yes, Dean.”_

“Cas didn’t find me on the beach. He rescued me when I fell overboard,” Dean started to explain.

“How the hell did he rescue you? No boat should have been on the water that night,” Ellen exclaimed.

“Cas wasn’t on a boat; he was in the ocean. He’s not entirely human, Ellen.”

“What do you mean he isn’t entirely human,” Jo asked hesitantly.

Dean sighed before admitting, “Cas was in the ocean because… because he’s a siren.”

A needle dropping could have been heard in the silence of the kitchen. Dean watched as shock crossed both women’s faces. Tensely, he waited for their reactions. Cas gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“You really expect us to believe that? You really think I’m stupid enough to believe that this man is some mythological creature? Just tell me the truth, Dean! Are you trying to hide something? Did you kill somebody?” Ellen asked angrily.

“Ellen, he’s telling the truth. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Cas really is a… a siren. If it wasn’t for him, we probably would have lost Dean,” Sam said solemnly.

“Ok and how come he doesn’t have a tail now?” Ellen shot back, accusingly. 

“He can go between land and water at will. If he gets wet, he could shift if he chooses to,” Dean answered.

The three men were so focused on Ellen, they never noticed Jo moving towards the sink. Suddenly, Dean and Cas were being soaked with water from the hose that Jo held in her hands. Both men were shocked as Dean spun to glare at the girl.

 _“Dean,”_ Cas called.

In the next instant, Dean was crashing to the floor. Cas had transformed and had fallen, pulling Dean with him. Two screams echoed in the room. Dean looked up to see Ellen and Jo staring at them disbelievingly.

 _“Siren’s out the bag now,”_ he grumbled inside his head.

 _“I was never in a bag, Dean,”_ Cas said, annoyed at being drenched with a water hose.

_“Figure of speech Cas. It basically means the secret is out now. I thought you could control if you shifted. That’s what you told Sam and me earlier.”_

_“I can if I’m expecting it. I had not planned on being sprayed with enough water to soak both of us. I can change back, but as you know, I will have no clothes on. I really liked them too.”_

Both men looked at the shredded remains of Castiel’s clothes. The dorsal fin on his back had shredded his shirt. His waist, which was wider due to his tail, had ripped the skirt at the top. His flip flops had fallen off the fins at the end of his tail. Dean could only imagine the underwear underneath had been ripped to pieces as well.

They were broken out of their thoughts when Sam shouted, “Dammit Jo, look what you did! Cas could have been hurt!”

“How in the hell was I supposed to know that would happen? I thought you three were delirious or some shit! You really thought mom and I would be convinced that Cas is some kind of fish?” she yelled back.

“Why the hell would we lie? Why do you think we wanted the place closed down and took all these precautions? We told you it could put Cas in danger! Imagine if it got out that Dean’s boyfriend is some mythological creature,” he continued to argue.

“ENOUGH, both of you,” Ellen hollered. Everyone in the room fell silent. She looked at the two men on the floor as she walked over and kneeled on the ground in front of them. Dean eyed her cautiously as she hovered a hand over Cas’ tail. Cas nodded permission for her to touch him.

“My God, you’re really… real. How is this even possible?” her voice shook.

_“My kind have been around for millennia. There are hundreds of us.”_

Ellen screamed, not expecting to hear Cas’ voice in her head.

“It’s ok. If Cas is touching you, he can communicate telepathically. Otherwise, he’s nearly as mute as I am,” Dean explained.

“Did you really save him from that storm,” she asked quietly.

_“Yes, I did.”_

Everybody was shocked when the woman sobbed and pulled Cas into a tight hug. “Thank you! He might not be my flesh and blood but he’s still my son and I don’t know what would have happened if we had lost him.”

Cas hugged her back. _“I’m glad I was there to save him. He’s very important to me even though we’ve only known each other a few days.”_

Ellen pulled back, wiping the tears out her eyes. “Ok, we have to get him back to human form, but I’m guessing he’s gonna be naked?” She asked, gesturing to the ripped clothes scattered on the floor.

Dean blushed but nodded.

“Jo, go into my office and bring some of the spare clothes I keep in there. Grab some for Dean too since you soaked him.”

The girl hurried out the kitchen. When she came back, she handed two shirts and two pairs of sweatpants to Dean. Ellen kept them on hand in case of an accident in the kitchen.

“Thanks Jo. Could you guys turn around while Cas and I get dressed.”

Ellen stood up and the three of them turned around. Once their backs were turned, Cas shifted back to his human form. Dean helped him out of the ruined clothes before tossing him the clothes Jo had brought back. Cas slipped into them quickly and then put his flip flops back on while Dean threw the clothes in the trash. He quickly stripped his clothes and changed into the dry ones.

Dean saw his boyfriend look longingly at the garbage can. He walked over and pulled Cas into a hug. _“We can always go back to the mall and get them replaced.”_

_“Thank you, but I have enough stuff at home. I just really liked them, is all, and I feel bad that they got destroyed so soon.”_

_“I get it. They were yours and you haven’t had a lot of stuff that you could call your own. Think about it, and if you want, we can go back to the mall,”_ Dean offered again.

_“Thank you, freckles.”_

“Uh, guys, is Cas decent?” Sam called out, risking a glance over his shoulder.

“Why don’t we all go have a seat out front? I’ll get you guys some lunch and you can fill us in on the past few days,” Ellen offered.

All three men nodded. As they left, Jo touched Cas on the arm. He looked at her, his head tilted curiously.

“I’m sorry for getting you wet. It was a pretty crappy move.”

 _“Thank you, Jo. I can normally control the transformation, but you surprised me. I’m not mad. I would have liked to show you in a different way, but what’s done is done.”_ Cas smiled, hoping she understood he wasn’t upset with her.

“Thanks, Cas. Uh, you have an awesome tail. I can see why Dean fell for you. He drools over his precious leopard sharks,” she joked as they headed towards a table.

“Oh, shut up. I don’t like him just for the tail. It’s pretty spectacular though.”

The group all took their seats. Cas sat between Dean and Jo, while Sam and Ellen took a seat opposite them.

 _“As long as we are all touching, we can all speak telepathically,”_ Cas explained.

Dean signed so Ellen and Sam knew what he said.

“Good to know. Now what do you boys want to eat? Dean, Sam, you want your usual?” Both nodded and then she asked Cas.

 _“I want a burger and fries please,”_ he replied with a grin.

“Good lord, not you too! I can see Dean is already teaching you bad habits,” Sam groaned.

Cas tilted his head in confusion. _“What do you mean? What is wrong with burgers and fries? They are delicious and they make me happy.”_

Dean pecked Cas on the cheek before saying, _“Nothing is wrong, Cas. Sam is a health nut and hates anything greasy or fried. Eat what you want, moonshine. You can try some of Sam’s rabbit food too if you want. You may like it.”_

Ellen laughed and got up to go prepare the guys’ lunches. The other four chatted, Jo asking questions about Cas and his life at sea. Even though Cas had answered them all before, he didn’t seem to mind placating Jo. When Ellen returned with food and drinks, conversation died down for a little bit while they ate.

Once everybody was done, Ellen cleared the dishes and Jo bid the group goodbye and left to see her boyfriend. Sam left soon after to search for books for his college classes at the local library. Cas and Dean stayed behind to talk with Ellen.

“Shouldn’t you be opening the place back up?” Dean signed.

She shrugged, “I will when the night shift crew gets here. That gives us a few hours to talk.”

 _“Dean, you said she helped you learn how to speak with your hands. Do you think she would be willing to help you teach me more? I would like to be able to communicate without having to touch somebody,”_ Cas asked his boyfriend.

Dean repeated the question to Ellen and she eagerly agreed. They spent the rest of the afternoon teaching Cas the basics of sign language. By the time the night crew and Sam arrived, Cas knew the entire alphabet, numbers up to twenty, and some basic words. Dean would continue to work with him, and Ellen told them to come back on her next day off.

Cas and the Winchesters ended up taking food home with them for dinner. Sam went to his room to study and Dean and Cas stayed up late practicing sign language. When they went to bed, Cas was able to sign simple sentences. His intelligence and memory astounded Dean.

Sam and Cas woke up the following morning to find breakfast waiting for them. Dean had gotten up to use the bathroom and hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. While they were eating, he saw his boyfriend itching at his skin.

He got Cas’ attention and signed, “Need to go back to the water?”

Cas nodded, unable to not itch at his arm for the dozenth time. Sam saw his brother sign the question and was surprised.

“Why would you need to go back in the water? We literally pulled you out of a pool yesterday.”

“He can transform in any water, but only salt-water can rejuvenate him. He’s not quite as bad today as he was the other day. Maybe the longer he stays on land, the longer he will be able to go without having to go back into the ocean,” Dean suggested.

 _“The itching isn’t anywhere near as bad as it was, and my skin isn’t as dry. We don’t have to go right now; I can hold out for a while longer than I did before,”_ Cas replied with a shrug.

 _“I would rather go now. I was going to text my mom and ask her if we could come over to her place for dinner. If you still wanted to meet her that is,”_ Dean asked shyly.

_“Absolutely. I would love to meet her!”_

A smile lit up Dean’s face. Sam caught the motion and raised an eyebrow.

“What’s got you smiling so big?” Sam asked

“Cas and I are going for a swim. I thought I would text mom and see if we could come over for dinner. He really wants to meet her.”

“I’d like to go see her too; it’s been a couple weeks since we saw her last. I can text her while you guys are gone if you want.”

“Did you want to come with us? I’m sure Cas won’t mind.”

Sam shook his head, “I wish, but I’ve got work for school to get done. Besides, you should go enjoy some alone time with your boyfriend.”

Dean made a choking face at the implications of his brother’s words. “We are taking it slow, bitch. Haven’t got past second base man!”

“Dude, that was way more information than I wanted, jerk,” Sam said as he rolled his eyes.

Dean’s eyes lit up in laughter as a smile ghosted across his face. Cas had stayed silent, he enjoyed watching the interactions between the two brothers, although he was confused about how baseball had been brought into the conversation but figured he would just ask Dean later.

After they were done eating, Sam returned to his bedroom to get some work done while Dean and Cas cleaned the kitchen and prepared to go to the ocean. Dean made sure to pack his scuba gear and wetsuit, having every intention of swimming with his boyfriend this time. Dean was surprised when Cas chose a pair of sweats instead of a skirt.

_“No skirt today?”_

Castiel looked at the sweats and pulled at them with his fingers. _“I don’t want my nicer clothes to get ruined like my skirt did at Ellen’s. These aren’t too bad, and they are very soft.”_

Dean pulled his boyfriend into his arms and kissed him. _“You know, I think I prefer you in your skirts.”_

Cas pecked his boyfriend’s lips. _“I’m glad because I much prefer them as well. Ellen and Jo didn’t seem to mind me wearing them. Will your mom?”_

_“Pssh, mom is going to love you! She could give two shits what you wear. As long as you’re happy and you make me happy, she will welcome you with open arms.”_

Once they had all their supplies they headed out to Baby. It was a chilly day out and Dean tossed Cas one of the hoodies he had in his car. Once both men were a little warmer, they loaded their stuff up and headed to the beach. 

Cas didn’t even jump when the Impala’s engine roared to life. Dean noticed that he seemed to be too caught in his mind. He pulled their joined hands up to rub against his cheek. It brought Cas out of his reprieve.

_“You ok, moonshine?”_

_“Dean, I know you make me happy, happier than I’ve ever been in my life. Do I make you happy though?”_ he asked, his voice full of trepidation.

 _“Castiel,”_ Dean thought tenderly. _“Of course you make me happy. I haven’t smiled this much since I was a kid. Even Ellen noticed it. When you went to the bathroom yesterday, she mentioned it to me. She likes you a lot, by the way.”_

Cas’ cheeks flushed red. _“I like her and Jo too. They were nice, besides the whole water incident.”_

Both men smiled at the mention of the fiasco. They spent the rest of the drive in silence. Once they arrived, Dean parked in the back corner of the marine center’s parking lot. He turned to Cas and said, _“I called Bobby before we left to ask if I could borrow his boat. I’ve got to go grab the keys and then I’ll be right back. Will you be fine to wait for me here?”_

 _“Yes, Dean, I’ll be ok,”_ Cas assured.

Dean nodded once before getting out of the car and heading inside the institute. He grabbed the keys, making sure to avoid everyone, and walked back outside. He and Cas grabbed their gear and walked to the dock where the boats were tied up. Cas had just headed onto the boat and Dean was about to follow him when he heard his name shouted. He turned around and scowled at who he saw approaching him.

“Alistair, what are you doing here?” Dean signed when the other man was close enough.

“Bobby told me you walked into the institute after that storm completely unscathed. Just trying to put pieces together. Tell me, how did you manage to get back to shore in those waters?” Alistair asked suspiciously.

“Like I told Bobby, when I hit the water, I was knocked unconscious. I woke up on the beach the next morning. I can't remember anything, so I don’t know what happened in between. The waves must have carried me to land,” Dean explained, his hand movements stiff.

Alistair’s eyes narrowed, and his lips frowned at Dean’s statement. “How did you not freeze to death? The water is around sixty degrees and you would have been in it for hours. There’s no way you could have survived!”

Dean threw his hands high, obviously upset. “I don’t know Alistair. What part of ‘I don't remember’ do you not get? I wouldn’t have even been in the situation if you hadn’t decided to stay out that night, even though I warned you there was a storm fast approaching.”

“I apologize. You were right.” Alistair smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes and Dean could tell it was fake. “I came across some unusual tracks in the sand. I want to get a second opinion on them. If you have a moment, could you come look at them?”

Dean’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Do you need me right now? I have plans.”

“Dean, it won’t take but a few minutes. Surely, you can spare that,” Alistair replied, his voice sickeningly sweet. 

Dean glanced behind him before looking back at the other man. “Let me go tell my friend where I’m going.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Dean hurried onto the boat to find Cas in the center cabin, standing behind the wheel. Cas looked up and could tell Dean was agitated. He had heard Alistair’s half of the conversation and from his boyfriend’s posture, it was obvious there was nothing good about the man. He reached for Dean’s hand and asked, _“Dean, is everything alright? Who is that man?”_

Dean made sure Alistair was still standing on the pier before responding. _“Everything is fine. Just put your hood up and stay here. I don’t want you anywhere near him. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”_

Castiel wanted to argue but did as told. Dean returned to Alistair. “Alright, let’s go,” he signed with clipped movements. He scowled as he watched Alistair look up at the boat, trying to catch a glimpse of Cas.

“Who is the other person with you?” Alistair asked.

“A friend. We are going to go scuba diving.” Dean answered as they started walking along the shore of the beach.

Alistair glanced at Dean. “In those kinds of clothes?”

“We have our gear already loaded on the boat. Where are we going anyways?” Dean asked as he glowered at the older man.

Alistair pointed to a very familiar cave. “The tracks I saw are by the water in front of that cave.”

Once they were nearing the water’s edge, Dean’s head shot up and his green eyes widened as he tried desperately to see what was in front of them. He zeroed in on a spot ahead. He could barely make out two large imprints in the sand and as they came closer, he got more and more nervous. When Cas came out of the water, he was sure to leave behind tracks in the sand. Why hadn’t Dean ever thought to wipe them away afterwards? His mistake could cause his boyfriend to get hurt and he was starting to panic.

Finally, Alistair came to a stop. In front of them was a unique furrow in the sand. It was about two feet across at the widest point but quickly tapered down. It looked as if a giant fish had been dragged from the water onto the sand. Dean looked at the sand and saw that a few feet above the single track were ten small holes. He assumed Cas had dug his hands into the sand to pull himself up. Next to these, Dean could see where something else had been dragged in the sand.. It was a large, almost rectangular track and he knew that was where Cas had pulled him onto the beach.

Alistair gestured to the large grooves. “What do you make of these?”

Dean kneeled, pretending to look at the tracks. He was trying to come up with a lie to tell the man. An idea struck him. “This is where I pulled myself from the water. When I woke up, I was half in and half out. I was too weak to stand up, so I pulled myself out.” He pointed to the holes. “That’s where I dug my fingers in to pull myself up.”

“What about the other track. What is that one?” Alistair asked, pointing at the track next to it, his voice edged with a growl.

Dean shrugged. “Don’t know. It wasn’t here when I washed up.”

“I checked and they seem to be roughly the same age, Winchester.”

Dean smirked. “Alistair, we are at the edge of an ocean. Who knows how long these tracks have been here? There’s no way to tell how old they are. Not to mention, the freaking storm that was raging that night.”

“I’ve got one more thing to show you. Follow me.” Alistair demanded.

He walked off without another word, forcing the other man to follow him. Dean sighed as he realized Alistair was leading them to where Cas had exited the water the other day.

Alistair knelt and pointed to the track. In the center of it, there was a very thin groove that ran almost the entire length of the track. On either side of the main furrow, were two other marks, these ones triangular in shape. Dean wracked his brain, trying to figure out what left those marks.

He thought about how Cas had the tail of a shark and that helped him figure out what the marks were. The thin line would be from Cas’ anal fin and the tracks to the side would be from his pelvic fins. Since these tracks were newer, the water hadn’t washed them away like the other ones.

 _“Fuck,”_ he screamed inside his head.

“What do you make of these? It’s almost identical to the other track except for these extra marks. What in the world could this be? No human crawling out of the water would leave this kind of track,” Alistair reasoned, a triumphant grin on his face.

“It looks like someone caught a shark.” He pointed at the extra markings. “Anal fin grove and pelvic fin markings.”

“Where are the marks from the pectoral fins. Oh, and look, the ten holes are there. No shark has fingers, Winchester,” Alistair snarked. “You know what, I think you’re lying. I think whatever left these marks is the same thing that left those other marks.”

“I can’t control what you think Alistair. I’m just telling you what I know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my friend and I are going diving. I’ll see you when I come back to work.” There was a finality to his hand movements and facial expression that not even the other man dared to argue with.

Alistair glared at him as Dean turned around and walked away. He headed back to the dock, checking over his shoulder to see if Alistair was following. He frowned when he realized the man had stayed behind to study the tracks some more. He knew he would have to keep a watchful eye out or else Alistair could become a major problem.

As soon as Dean stepped on the boat, Cas was rushing to his side. He grabbed Dean’s hand. _“What happened? What did he want?”_ Cas questioned, his voice filled with worry.

Dean hurried to explain the conversation, not wanting to think about it anymore than he had to. He was furious at himself for not thinking to cover those tracks. He was a trained researcher and should have known better.

Dean’s shoulders slumped and he leaned heavily against Cas’ strong form. He was scared and didn’t want to imagine what would happen if Alistair got his slimy hands on Cas. He would only care about making money and getting famous from having discovered a new species, especially something as magnificent as a siren.

_“Hey, it’ll be ok. Don’t let him ruin our day.”_

_“You’re right, moonshine, let’s go.”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas go swimming together and the Cas meets Mary for the first time. Mary and Bobby have a few secrets of their own. More Dean/Cas domestic fluff.

They quickly untied the boat, and Dean steered them into deeper waters, hoping to leave their problems behind for the moment. He made sure they were far from the institute before dropping anchor. He looked all around them, wanting to ensure that they hadn’t been followed. He relaxed only when he was sure they were truly alone.

Dean turned when he felt Cas grip his shoulder. As soon as their eyes locked, Cas flung himself into Dean’s arms. Tears were already rolling down his cheeks. As Dean held him, he could feel silent sobs causing tremors throughout his boyfriend’s body.

 _“Moonshine, what’s wrong? Sweetheart, you have to tell me what’s going on.”_ Dean said panicking, trying to determine what had upset the man so greatly.

_“It’s my fault, freckles. This is all on me. Alistair is out here because of the tracks I left behind! I should just go back to the ocean and stay there!”_

Dean’s body went ice cold and it felt as if his heart stopped beating. He couldn’t lose the man he was falling in love with. _“Cas, no! You can’t! It’s not your fault. I should have erased the tracks behind us; that was stupid of me to forget to do so.”_

 _“Yeah but Dean, he’s suspicious and he’s going to keep watching us. If he finds me, who knows what he will do,”_ Castiel argued.

Dean wanted to disagree, but he had to admit Cas was right. _“Cas, it’s your decision. I can’t ask you to risk your life for me. I don’t want Alistair to find and hurt you. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”_

 _“I don’t want to leave you, Dean! I feel more at home with you than I ever have with my clan!”_ Cas met Dean’s eyes and slammed their mouths together.

When they broke apart, they rested their foreheads against each other. _“If you want to stay, then stay. We will be extra precautious. I’ll continue to borrow Bobby’s boat or rent one out if we have to. We’ll come out onto the ocean, like we are now, that way nobody can follow us. There won’t be any tracks for Alistair to find. If you would feel safer going back to the ocean, then go back to the ocean. It’s your choice, moonshine.”_

_“I don’t want to cause any trouble for you and Sam. Both of you have been so kind to me.”_

Dean slid his nose against Cas’ and pressed another chaste kiss to the man’s lips. _“Then stay Cas. I care for you…a lot and I don’t want to lose you when I just found you.”_

He pulled away as he searched Dean’s face. Dean’s own eyes were shimmering with wetness and a few tears had already escaped and flowed down his cheeks. Cas reached up and traced his fingers from Dean’s temple all the way down until he cupped his jaw.

_“I care for you too Dean, in a way I’ve never experienced. I don’t think any siren has ever felt the way I feel about you. If you’re sure we can make this work, then I want to stay with you.”_

Dean pulled him in for another kiss. It started out tender but then Cas licked across his lips, requesting access into his mouth. Dean opened without thought, and Cas quickly slid his tongue inside. Their tongues tapped and wound against each other. Dean slipped his arms around Cas’ back and waist, slotting their bodies perfectly against each other. Cas had one hand holding tightly onto Dean’s hip and the other was wrapped in the man’s blonde hair.

Cas broke the kiss and gasped when he felt his hardening cock brush against Dean’s. He bucked his hips, searching for more friction. Dean dropped his head to Cas’ shoulder as they continued to rut against each other. He traced his hand up from Dean’s hip to the buttons on the man’s jeans.

_“Please, moonshine, touch me!”_

Cas fumbled to pop the buttons but eventually was able to slip his hand into his boyfriend’s underwear. He heard Dean’s moans of pleasure in his head when he wrapped his hand around the man’s erection. Cas held the cock in his hand, enjoying the feel of it. He had never felt something so smooth yet firm. As he moved his hand up and down, he could feel it pulse and ripple.

_“Cas, more! Please. Feels so good, moonshine.”_

_“Dean, I want to try something.”_

_“Anything, you have my full permission.”_ He sounded breathless even in his head.

Cas pushed Dean’s clothes further down until they fell down his legs and pooled at his feet. He then repeated the process with the sweats around his own hips. He smiled as he watched Dean’s eyes zero in on his own erection. Dean reached out and hovered his hand over the flesh.

_“Touch me, freckles. I want to feel your skin against mine.”_

Dean shivered at his boyfriend’s words. He slowly lowered his hand until it rested on Cas’ hardened flesh. He wrapped his fingers around it and stroked in a gentle rhythm. Cas dropped his head back and moaned as pleasure spiked through his bloodstream.

_“Dean, feels so good! Never could have imagined it like this!”_

Dean smirked. _“What did you want to try moonshine?”_

Cas crashed their mouths together as he knocked Dean’s hand out the way and then took both their cocks in his own. The both gasped in exquisiteness as their flesh slid against one another. Cas pumped their erections with a snail’s pace, pushing them both closer to the edge.

_“Dean, would you like to help?”_

Without a word being said, Dean wrapped his hand over his boyfriend’s. He showed him how to add pressure in just the right spot to wring more pleasure out of them both. Within minutes, both of them were left gasping and shivering as their orgasms crashed through them, their combined semen dripping from their hands onto the wood below.

Once they had calmed down, Dean grabbed a spare rag and wiped them off before bending over and wiping the cum off the deck of the boat. _“Cas, you’re gonna be the death of me. No partner I’ve ever had has made me feel like you.”_

_“And how many partners have you had, Dean?”_

_“Before you, four. Two of them, we only made it to second base and the other two, we went all the way,”_ he replied with a sheepish smile.

Cas cocked his head. _“I don’t understand how baseball has to do with sex.”_

For a full minute, all Cas could hear was Dean’s laughter in his head. _“It’s a metaphor Cas. Each base represents how far you got. First base is kissing. Second base is touching skin to skin. Third base is touching below the waist which is what we just did. And a homerun is when you actually have sex.”_

 _“Humans have such odd sayings but I’m looking forward to getting a homerun with you,”_ Cas replied with a grin.

Dean felt his cock make a valiant effort to chub up again. _“Cas, you can’t say stuff like that!”_

_“It’s just the two of us, freckles, so why not?”_

_“Never mind, Cas. You’re right, it is just the two of us. Are you ready to go swimming? You’ve definitely been out longer than before, how do you feel?”_

Cas scratched at his arm. _“Now that I’m no longer occupied, the itching is getting worse. I need to get in the water soon.”_

Dean nodded. _“Alright, let me get into my wetsuit and put my scuba gear on, and we will be good to go.”_

Five minutes later, Dean was in his wetsuit and scuba gear while Cas was completely naked. Cas pecked Dean on the lips before diving into the water, letting his legs turn into a tail. He resurfaced and swam to the back of the boat. Dean slid his mask over his face and double checked all of his gear before stepping off the boat and into the cold water.

Cas immediately swam up to him, a large smile on his face. He grabbed Dean’s hand, ensuring there was some type of skin on skin contact. _“Are you ready freckles? I’m excited to show you my world!”_

Dean couldn’t fight the smile that spread across his lips. He repositioned his mask before letting Cas pull him along. They swam through empty water for about ten minutes before suddenly the water below turned into a kaleidoscope of green. They had arrived at a giant kelp forest that was teeming with life.

As they swam through the kelp stalks, Dean saw dozens of different species of fish such as sea bass and senoritas. He could make out a bat ray that had risen from the bottom of the ocean floor and was gliding through the water. They even came face to face with a group of playful sea lions. Cas communicated with them and the group performed dozens of tricks for the two men before swimming off in search of food.

Dean had been scuba diving dozens of times but never like this. Cas was able to point out dozens of things he would never have noticed on his own like underwater caves, animal dens, and even a few species he had no name for. The highlight of the trip had been when they crossed paths with a leopard shark. Dean had pointed excitedly and spent minutes just watching the creature swim languidly through the kelp.

Dean had watched in amazement as Cas swam up to it and touched it gently on its side, speaking to it. The two had swam back to Dean who had a gleeful look on his face. He had seen countless leopard sharks and tagged dozens of them, but he had never been swimming with one. That’s exactly what this female shark did. For half an hour she swam next to them and had even curled up in Dean’s arms, letting him run his fingers down her scaly body.

When Cas settled a hand on her side and his other hand on Dean’s, the blonde could hear her thoughts. _“That feels good. Castiel, you can bring him back any time.”_

 _“You know her?”_ Dean asked his boyfriend.

Cas nodded his head. _“She had been my friend for many moons ever since I rescued her from a human’s net. She is wary of humans, but she’s warmed up to you.”_

Dean looked down at the shark in hand, scratching underneath her chin. _“Thank you for trusting me. I will never forget this. I would love to come back and visit!”_

With a final goodbye and a pat to her head, the leopard shark swam off back into the kelp. The two men watched her until she disappeared. Dean checked his watch and was astounded to see they had been swimming for hours. He told Cas that they should head back. It had been a while since Dean had gone diving for so long and grew tired on the trip back to the boat. They surfaced and Dean took his scuba tank off before Cas scooped him up in his arms and propelled them forwards with powerful strokes of his tail.

After a while, Dean felt strong enough to start swimming again, but Cas refused to let him go. _“Cas, I’m rested enough. I can swim on my own for the rest of the journey.”_

_“What if I don’t want you to? I like carrying you and holding you so close.”_

Dean felt his heart stutter at the sentiment. He let his boyfriend carry him until they returned to the boat. Dean got back on the vessel and then realized a flaw in their plan. He kneeled over the edge and Cas swam up to him. _“We have an issue. How the heck am I going to get you on the boat? Ugh, this is the pool all over again!”_

Cas was silent for a moment before suggesting, _“There is a large net ondeck. It’s not exactly dignified but I could swim into it, and you could lift me out of the water.”_

 _“Moonshine, you aren’t my daily catch. I don’t want to see you in a net,”_ Dean argued.

 _“It’s just this one time. We’ll just have to figure something else out before we come back to the water,”_ Cas replied, obviously unhappy about the prospect of having to be in a net.

 _“Alright, I promise to get you out of the net as quickly as possible,”_ Dean said before standing up and walking to the crank to lower the net into the water. He watched Cas swim into the net and made sure he was fully inside before lifting his boyfriend out of the water. As soon as Cas was safely on deck, Dean was rushing over to get him out the net.

Once Cas was free, he shifted back to his human form. He shivered as he pulled his clothes back on. Once they were dressed, Dean pulled Cas into his arms. _“Moonshine, are you ok?”_

Cas glared at the net. _“Let’s just say I now know why fish don’t like to be caught in a net. That was very unpleasant and I hope to never have to experience it again.”_

Dean hugged Cas tighter. _“You won’t, I promise.”_

They shared a few kisses before walking to the wheel and heading back to the institute. They stopped for a quick lunch on the way home, picking something up for Sam. Dean pulled into the driveway of his home half an hour later. He dropped the food off for his brother before he and Cas headed to the bedroom to take a nap before heading to Mary’s later in the evening.

They woke a couple hours later when Sam knocked on the door, letting them know they were supposed to be at Mary’s house in an hour. While Dean took a shower, Cas got dressed. He chose a deep purple skirt and paired it with a vivid yellow shirt. He slipped a pair of socks and boots on his feet. He wrapped a violet scarf around his neck before slipping a few bracelets on his wrists.

When Dean walked out the bathroom, he stopped and stared at his boyfriend, his mouth hanging open. Cas caught him looking and dropped his eyes, a blush spreading up his neck all the way to his ears. He dug into the carpet with the toe of his boot, nervousness spreading through his body.

He flinched when he felt Dean’s hand land on his arm. _“Moonshine, look at me.”_ Ocean blue met forest green as Cas raised his head. _“Cas, you look stunning. Why would you hide from me?”_

_“You were staring at me and usually humans do that when they see something unusual.”_

_“Oh, sweetheart, I see something unusual alright. I’ve got a gorgeous siren standing in my bedroom looking absolutely ravishing. How could I not stare?”_ Dean said huskily.

 _“You really think I’m gorgeous?”_ Cas questioned, his blue eyes wide.

_“There isn’t a single person on this planet who could come close to your looks. I’m so glad I get to call you mine, Cas.”_

As Cas stared into the eyes of the man in front of him, he saw something there he had never seen before. The emotion that was swirling in the green depths was something he had only dreamed to see. A wide smile spread across his face, his eyes and nose wrinkled in happiness.

_“I love you, Dean.”_

Dean’s eyes widened before his face lit up in joy. He grabbed Cas’ hand and placed it on his chest right over his heart. He then brought his hands up and signed, “I love you, Cas,” the words echoing in his mind, so Cas knew what was being said.

Cas curled his free hand around the back of Dean’s neck and pulled him forward, their lips meeting in the middle. The kiss was tender and unhurried as it deepened, the men taking their time exploring each other’s mouth. They broke apart when the need for air became too great. Their foreheads rested against each other and Dean had one hand wrapped around Cas’ hand that still rested against his chest.

_“I’m the lucky one who gets to call you mine, freckles. I will be forever grateful I was out exploring that night.”_

_“Same here, Cas. I never knew I was missing something until I found you.”_

They kissed again until the spell was broken by Sam knocking on the door. “You’ve got ten minutes or else I’m leaving without you guys.”

Dean rolled his eyes before pressing a chaste kiss to Cas’ lips and then pulled away to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of jeans that hugged his legs and ass in all the right ways. He smiled when he caught Cas staring appreciatively. He started to look for a shirt when one was thrust in his face. Cas had picked a dark green Henley out that complimented his eyes. He slipped it on while Cas retrieved some socks and shoes for him. When he was finally dressed, he placed the siren necklace around his neck before grabbing Cas’ hand and heading to the kitchen.

Sam, who was seated at the table, looked up from his phone. “What are you two smiling about?”

“Can’t a man and his boyfriend be happy, Sammy?” Dean signed

“It’s Sam. I’m just saying, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile like that,” he replied as he stood up and tucked his phone in his pocket.

“Yeah, well it’s not every day your boyfriend tells you he loves you for the first time.” Dean’s cheeks tinged pink as he signed to his brother.

The corners of Sam’s mouth turned up. “That’s awesome. What did you say?”

“I said it right back.” Dean pressed his lips to the top of Cas’ head.

“I’m happy for you guys. From what Cas said about sirens, he needs someone to love him. Cas, I’m not your boyfriend, but if you ever need something, I’m here for you too. You make my brother happy and that means you’re part of the family now.” Sam walked over and pulled him into a tight hug.

Cas was surprised but quickly returned the affection. _“Thank you, Sam. I will be there for you as well. It’s nice having a family who cares about you.”_

“Wait until mom meets you. She’ll care for you more than you will ever want.”

 _“I don’t think that’s possible. I’ve been craving affection for thirty years, Sam. I’ve got a lot to make up for,”_ the siren joked. Sam chuckled as they pulled apart.

“Alright, let’s get going. You know how snippy mom gets when we’re late,” Dean signed as he grabbed Cas’ hand and headed out to the car.

Cas and Sam both tried to open the door to the front passenger seat. They looked at each other before Sam smiled and got into the back seat, placing his hand on Cas’ shoulder as he settled in the front seat. “Sorry, Cas. Force of habit.”

_“It’s ok Sam. I understand. You could have sat here if you wanted.”_

“Oh no, Dean would have chewed me out. You’ve got front seat privileges now man.”

 _“Damn straight he does,”_ Dean piped in as he started Baby and backed her out of the driveway.

When they pulled into Mary’s driveway a little while later, they were surprised to find an old beat up truck parked beside her own vehicle. Dean parked behind Mary’s truck and they all shuffled out the car.

“Did you know Bobby would be here tonight?” Dean asked.

Sam shook his head. “I didn’t, but it will be nice to catch up with him as well.”

“Yeah, true, but I was thinking about telling mom the truth about Cas,” Dean said as they walked to the door.

Before knocking, Sam looked at his brother. “Do you think that would be wise? We’ve already told Ellen and Jo and the fewer people who know, the better.”

“I know and I was against it, but it was Cas’ idea. He said with her being our mom, he doesn’t want to keep such a big secret from her especially if he’s going to be around for a while.”

“We will just have to tell her another time I guess, unless you want to tell Bobby.”

“No. I trust Bobby, but with him working at the institute, it would be too dangerous if he accidentally let something slip. I’m already worried that I’m going to say something and let Cas’ secret out.” Dean’s shoulders slumped as he continued signing.

_“You would never let something like that happen. Don’t be so hard on yourself, freckles.”_

_“Thanks, moonshine.”_

Sam reached up to knock on the door, but before he got the chance, it opened wide leaving his hand hanging awkwardly in the empty air.

“Are you going to stand out here all night or are you going to come in and say hi to your mother? Oh, who’s this?” Mary Winchester asked as she caught sight of Cas.

“Mom, this is my boyfriend, Castiel. Cas, this is my mom, Mary.”

Cas stretched his hand out for her to shake as he had seen other humans do. Mary completely ignored the offered appendage, choosing to pull him into a tight hug. “Oh, it’s so good to meet you! Dean hasn’t told me anything about you!”

“That’s because we only started dating last week.”

Mary pulled away from Cas to scowl at her son. “Oh but Bobby knew, and I guess you were so busy with Castiel here that you forgot to mention that you fell overboard into the ocean during a raging thunderstorm!”

Dean at least had the courtesy to look ashamed as he was scolded by his mother. “So, you heard about that?”

Mary frowned at her eldest. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Yeah, tonight, along with introducing you to Cas.”

Mary glanced back at Cas. “I heard you were the one who saved his stubborn ass. Want to explain that?”

Cas looked back at Dean, worry in his eyes.

“He found me on the beach unconscious,” Dean tried to explain.

“I’d rather have Cas tell me if you don’t mind, Dean,” Mary snapped.

“Uh, mom, Cas is mute like Dean and he doesn’t know sign language,” Sam interrupted.

She crossed her arms, staring all three men down. “So, you’re going to tell me that a grown man who is unable to speak hasn’t learned sign language or some other way of communicating?”

The three men were speechless, none of them able to come up with a good excuse. Mary stood there, waiting for one of them to say something. Bobby suddenly appeared behind her.

“Mary, let them in and we will talk inside where it’s private,” he said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

She stepped to the side and the three men headed inside, going straight for the kitchen.

 _“Dean, what are we going to tell her? She has a point, there’s no good excuse as to why I don’t know a lot of sign language. Even if we say I recently lost my voice, that’s not good enough,”_ Cas said worriedly as he followed his boyfriend.

_“I don’t know Cas, but I think both mom and Bobby know something. Why else would we need to talk in private?”_

Castiel had no answer as they all took a seat around the large dinner table. He sat sandwiched between Dean and Sam with Mary and Bobby sitting on the opposite side. It was eerily silent in the kitchen.

Bobby broke the silence, “So, Castiel, how is Naomi doing?”

Cas was paralyzed. He felt his blood run cold. He had told no one, not even Dean, the name of his mother. He might be willing to risk his own life by going on land so often, but he would not risk those of his clan, especially his mother. He felt Dean tense next to him.

_“Moonshine, how does Bobby know about your mother? You've barely mentioned her to me.”_

_“I have no idea, Dean! As far as I know, my mother only came to land once when she was looking for a mate. I know since I’ve been born, she’s never come to land. She even sneers at me when I visit.”_

“Dean, would you like to share with us what you and Cas are talking about?” Mary asked.

“Mom, they haven’t said anything.”

Mary looked at Sam with an expression that could only be interpreted as “How dumb do I look?”

“Mary and I know that sirens can speak telepathically as long as they are touching someone,” Bobby interjected.

All three men went pale as the words that Bobby said sunk in. Castiel started trembling and Dean wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close into his side. Cas buried his face in the offered shoulder. Sam looked at Mary and Bobby, completely at a loss for words.

“How,” Dean signed the single word.

“I saved Castiel’s mother when she was almost raped by some assholes in a bar when she came on land looking for a mate. She was hurt pretty badly because it was a gang who attacked her, so I brought her to Mary to help take care of her,” Bobby explained.

“That meant dad knew about them too,” Sam remarked.

“No, actually. She came to land when he was out of town for a two-week long conference.” Mary replied. “When he got back, Naomi had already found a mate and returned to the ocean. Her wounds should have taken almost a month to heal, but sirens have an incredibly fast rate of healing. Bobby and I took care of her until she was recovered.”

“How did you find out she was a siren besides the rapid healing rate?” Dean asked the question all three men were wondering.

“Dean, really. How long can Cas stay out of the water before he must return to the ocean? Whenever you touch, can you not hear each other’s thoughts? How many grown adults do you come across who are almost completely ignorant to human culture? It wasn’t that hard to figure out, sweetheart,” Mary chided her son.

Cas reached out to touch the back of Mary’s hand. _“Do you know who my father was?”_

The corners of her mouth turned up, “We do actually. His name was James. He was a drifter passing through town. I’m sorry that there is no way to introduce you. You look so much like him; you could be his twin. It’s how Bobby and I knew who you were.”

 _“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?”_ Cas begged of the woman.

“Oh hon, I wish there was, but once your mother set her eyes on him, she hypnotized him with her song and off they went. We never even talked to him. The only reason we know his name is because she returned here the next day to say goodbye and thank us for helping her. We’ve never seen your mother since.” Mary looked wistful as she told the tale, as if she wished Naomi had returned to land to come visit them.

“We promised your mother never to tell another human about your kind. We’ve kept that promise, Cas. We never even expected to see another siren, and definitely not a male. Your mother told us the entire species is female,” Bobby spoke up.

Cas could see where Bobby and Mary were touching so he knew the man would be able to hear him. _“Besides me, sirens are entirely female. I’m an oddity of sorts in more ways than one.”_

“What do you mean, Cas?” Bobby asked.

_“My tail, for one, is different from any other siren’s. My tail resembles that of a leopard shark while all other sirens have tails resembling great whites and other sharks like that.”_

Mary chuckled. “No wonder Dean likes you.”

Dean made an exasperated face. _“Why does everybody say that? I don’t like him just for his tail!”_

“Of course you don’t, sweetheart but I’m sure you aren’t complaining,” Mary joked. “Cas, your mother said sirens are only interested in one-night stands, but Dean said you have been dating for a while now.”

Castiel nodded. _“Another difference that I have from other sirens. I’ve always craved a relationship, to be shown love and affection.”_ A shy smile crossed his face and his eyes travelled to Dean.

Dean returned the smile before pulling Cas’ hand up and kissing the back of the knuckles.

_“Love you, moonshine.”_

The whole table seemed surprised to hear Dean admit the affection. He blushed under their scrutiny.

_“What are you guys looking at? It’s like you’ve never heard somebody say they love someone.”_

“We’ve hardly ever heard you say it, Dean. I think you’ve said it to me like three times and I’m your brother,” Sam exclaimed.

 _“Well fine, I love all of you guys. There, happy? I thought we came here to eat anyway,”_ he snapped, trying to change the topic.

Cas leaned over and pecked his cheek. Dean returned the gesture uncaring of his family watching him. He was happy, so they could all get used to it.

“The lasagna should be about done. Cas, have you ever had lasagna before?” Mary asked as she stood up to check on the food.

He shook his head. He slowly signed, “Want to try. Is good?”

Mary’s eyes lit up when she saw Cas sign the short sentences. “I think you will like it. I see Dean is teaching you sign language. If you ever need someone to practice with, I’d be more than willing.”

“Thank you. He and Ellen show me.” Cas signed again.

“Does she know?” Bobby asked as he got up and retrieved beer from the fridge.

“Yeah, she and Jo both do. Let’s just say they got an up and close view of Cas’ tail in the Roadhouse’s kitchen,” Sam said with a chuckle.

“You’re gonna have to elaborate on that over dinner,” Bobby said as he handed a bottle to Sam and Dean each and set a third on the table for Mary. He popped his own open and took a deep gulp. “Cas, have you had beer?”

“No.”

_“Here moonshine, try mine. Take a small sip.”_

Cas did as instructed and gagged as the liquid touched his tongue. He barely managed to not spit it out, swallowing it with a disgusted look on his face. The people around him smiled and chuckled at his antics.

He handed the bottle back to Dean, smacking his lips, trying to rid his mouth of the taste. _“That is awful. How do you drink that? Can I have something else to drink? Ugh, the taste won’t go away.”_

_“Whatever you want, moonshine. Mom’s got tea, lemonade, and soda.”_

_“Oooh, the lemonade please. I really liked that when I tried it,”_ Cas replied excitedly.

Dean smiled as he got up to get his boyfriend the drink. By then the lasagna was out the oven and he helped his mom serve everyone before taking a seat back at the table. Everybody quickly dug in, enjoying the food with gusto.

_“I like this Dean, it’s very good. Your mom is a great cook!”_

_“Wait until you try her pie moonshine.”_

“Mom, you didn’t happen to make…”

“I made you an apple pie. It’s cooling in the window. Eat your lasagna first. Cas, how do you like it,” she asked, taking another bite of her food.

“It’s good. Thank you.”

Once dinner was finished, Sam helped his mom clean the table while Cas got plates for them to eat their dessert on. Dean went for the pie and was practically drooling as he took a deep whiff of the sweet scent.

“Dean, quit sniffing the darn thing and bring it over here so we can all have a piece,” Bobby snapped.

He hurried over to the table where Mary handed him a knife to cut pieces. The pie was big enough to serve eight people, but once the rest of the table was served, Dean took the entire leftover pie and ate it straight from the pan. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother’s behavior, used to his obsession with the sweet treat by now.

“Dean, I swear, you and your pie. It’s a good thing nobody wanted anymore,” Mary said playfully.

“This is one of the best ones you’ve ever made mom. Just couldn’t let any go to waste,” he signed as he shoved another piece into his mouth.

Cas watched Dean’s family joke with him about his pie obsession and it suddenly hit him. These people were his family too. Along with Ellen and Jo, they had accepted him without reservation. He was more at home here than he had ever been with his clan in the ocean.

The fork dropped from his hand, clattering against the plate. Everyone’s eyes snapped to him. He wiped at the wetness that bubbled in his eyes.

 _“Moonshine, what’s wrong? What happened?”_ Dean asked full of panic.

Castiel shook his head. _“Nothing, freckles. Absolutely nothing is wrong. I just realized that you are all my family and that you’ve shown me more affection than my entire clan combined ever has. To them, I’m a freak and should have been kicked out of the clan a long time ago. But you and your family have not only accepted my differences, but encouraged them. I have considered coming to land permanently multiple times before, but never did because there was no one here for me. At least in the ocean, I had my clan. Now, I have you and your family.”_

Dean had been signing the whole time since Cas was only touching him. Everyone gathered around the table were touched by the words that Cas had to say. Mary stood up and came to the other side of the table to pull Cas into her arms. He went willingly, being hugged by a loving mother for the first time in his life.

“You will always be welcome here, Cas. You’re my son now too, so you have to stop by and say hi every once in a while. And thank you for saving Dean from drowning in that storm. I’m so happy that you two found each other. You’re good for one another,” she pulled away wiping at a few tears of her own.

Cas smiled brightly at her. _“Thank you, Mary. I hope it’s ok if I think of you as a mother. My own did the best she could but besides me, sirens just don’t have the same emotional range as humans. I have craved the love of a mother most of my life.”_

“It’s absolutely ok to think of me as mom,” she cried as she pulled him in for another hug.

 _“I’m glad I saved Dean that night as well. He’s given me more than I ever thought possible. He’s a good man,”_ Cas replied as his eyes locked with Dean’s green ones.

Dean mouthed “I love you,” and Cas did the same.

Mary and Cas separated, and they sat back in their respective seats. The rest of the night wasn’t quite so emotional. Mary and Bobby decided to entertain Cas with stories of Sam and Dean growing up. Neither man minded, even interjecting every now and again.

By the time, they called it a night, Cas was so happy that he thought his heart might burst with it. Even Bobby gave him a hug as they walked out of Mary’s house and down to Baby. They had all agreed to have another family dinner, this time at Sam and Dean’s, in a few days. Cas has wanted to invite Ellen and Jo as well which nobody disagreed with. They finally pulled out of the driveway, waving at Mary and Bobby until they were out of sight.

When they returned home, Sam hurried inside to pack a bag as he was heading over to his girlfriend’s house. He said goodbye to Dean and Cas and headed out to his truck. Once he was gone, Dean pulled Cas into his arms and kissed him with a fervor.

Cas moaned as Dean shoved his tongue into his mouth and thoroughly dominated him, not that Cas was putting up much of a fight though. He loved the feeling of Dean holding and possessing him. It made him feel wanted and loved.

When they broke apart, Dean’s eyes were full of hunger as he gazed at his boyfriend. Cas’ eyes were blown wide and their light blue had darkened considerably. _“Dean, I have something to show you.”_

 _“Yeah, what do you want to show me, moonshine,”_ he asked with a lust filled voice.

 _“I think we should go to the bedroom first,”_ Cas replied as he grabbed Dean’s hand and pulled him along behind him.

As soon as they were inside, Dean couldn’t help but pin Cas to the wall and ravage his mouth once again. He ran his hands up and down Cas’ arms while the other man writhed under the touch. Cas’ hands were buried in Dean’s hair while pleasure swept through his body, his veins turning molten.

Dean slipped a hand under Cas’ shirt and froze. He pulled away, green locking with blue. _“Cas?”_

 _“I told you I had something to show you,”_ he said with a smirk. _“Will you go sit on the bed so that I can show you your surprise?”_

Dean licked his suddenly dry lips and stumbled back until he could sit heavily on the mattress. He refused to take his eyes off his boyfriend as the man came to stand in front of him. He could see the bright red blush that was spreading up Cas’ neck onto his cheeks. He realized that even though Cas wanted to show him something, he was extremely nervous about it. He held his hand out for Cas to grasp in his trembling fingers.

 _“Moonshine, you have nothing to be anxious about. Whatever you want to show me, I know I will love it,”_ Dean said soothingly, trying to calm his agitated boyfriend.

Cas relaxed at the words, flashing Dean a small smile. _“Thank you, freckles.”_

Having gotten control of his nerves, Cas started undressing. He bent over and quickly removed his boots and socks, tossing them to the side. He then unwrapped the scarf from his neck and pulled the bracelets off his wrist and sat them on the bedside table. He turned back to Dean, his eyes dancing with fire. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and slowly pulled it up until he could pull it over his head and let it drop to the floor. He quickly shimmied out the skirt and then stood in front of Dean, letting him take in the surprise Cas had been wearing underneath.

Dean’s mouth gaped open as he gazed at the exquisite beauty in front of him. Cas was wearing the blue lingerie set they had bought at the mall. The silk cami covering his chest and stomach clung to him, just enough material to stretch across his frame. He dragged his eyes down Cas’ body coming to rest at the man’s groin. The panties hugged his hips, his cock stretching the silk to its max.

Dean licked his lips and tried to swallow; his mouth had gone dry at seeing Cas standing in front of him clad in nothing but silk lingerie. He reached his hands out, beckoning Cas to come closer until he was able to touch the beauty in front of him.

 _“Moonshine, you are stunning. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Nothing I’ve ever seen can even compare to the vision that you are right now,”_ Dean said in awe as he continued to stare at his boyfriend.

Cas’ cheeks heated up at seeing the hungry look on Dean’s face. He swept his hand down his body, emphasizing his peaked nipples and hardened cock. _“I’m glad you like it, freckles. It feels so smooth against my skin. Thank you for letting me get it.”_

 _“I’m thanking myself for getting it for you! You’re like my own little present that got unwrapped for me. You look sexy as fuck and just looking at you has me all hot and bothered.”_ Dean couldn’t look up from Cas’ panties where a large wet spot was already darkening the light blue silk.

 _“That’s good because that’s right where I want you. I want you, freckles,”_ Cas said boldly.

Dean's eyes jumped to Cas’ face. His thumbs, which had been rubbing circles into the skin above Cas’ underwear, paused in their movement. _“Moonshine, do you mean what I think you mean?”_

_“Yes Dean. I want you in every way. I want to score a homerun.”_

Dean’s laughter echoed inside his head and Cas couldn’t help but shove him backward. He quickly straddled Dean’s denim clad thighs and leaned over to kiss the man, effectively silencing him. He ground his silk clad erection against Dean’s own hardening cock. Dean bucked his hips up trying to gain more friction against his aching dick.

 _“Cas, holy crap, for a damn virgin you’re really good at that! I think sirens have some kind of sex instinct or something,”_ he gasped as Cas pushed his hips harder against his own.

_“I’m not sure if that is a thing, freckles, but if it makes you want to fuck me then I’ll keep doing it.”_

With a valiant effort, Dean rolled them over, pinning the smaller man beneath him. He undulated his hips against Cas’, increasing the friction and causing his dick to harden to an almost unbearable point. He slammed his mouth against Cas’, trying to ground himself amongst the flood of pleasure on his senses.

Cas grabbed the bottom of Dean’s shirt and pulled it up harshly, wanting to divest him of his clothes as quickly as possible. Dean quickly got with the program, moving off the bed so he could remove the rest of his clothes. He stumbled in his haste to get his jeans off and fell onto the bed, his legs still tangled in the denim.

Cas snorted next to him, obviously amused by his boyfriend’s clumsiness. _“I’m glad you’re amused by me falling on my face. So not sexy at all,”_ Dean grumbled.

Cas ran a gentle hand down Dean’s back, watching as goosebumps erupted underneath his fingertips. _“You’re right, not sexy but undeniably adorable. Now, quit pouting and get over here and fuck me.”_

 _“You know, I think I liked you better when you acted like the blushing virgin,”_ he joked.

Castiel stared at him unamused. _“You’re such an ass.”_

_“Yeah I am, and I have a very nice ass too.”_

Dean ignored Cas’ glare, instead, choosing to rummage in his bedside table for lube and condoms. When he dropped them on the bed, Cas picked them up to look at each one.

_“What are these?”_

Dean held the bottle up. _“This is lube. Guys don’t exactly get wet on their own like females, so we need some help to make things smooth and comfortable.”_ He sighed at Cas’ clueless expression. _“When I fuck you, moonshine, you aren’t going to want me to do it dry. This makes sure I can slide into you without hurting you.”_

 _“Oh…that…uh makes sense,”_ he answered, his cheeks a severe red.

Dean pulled a condom out the box. _“I will put this on my dick so that I can’t spread any possible disease to you and vice versa. It’s a form of protection.”_

 _“You could give me a disease with your penis? That is so odd,”_ Cas said, his eyes wide.

 _“Well, since you’ve never had sex, you probably don’t have one. I get tested regularly and I’m clean, so we don’t necessarily have to use them if you don’t want to. It just depends on if you want the skin to skin contact,”_ Dean explained.

Cas grabbed the condom and threw it somewhere behind him, pushing the box off the bed at the same time. He pulled Dean into his arms, connecting their lips. _“I want to feel you as much as possible freckles.”_

 _“In that case, as much as I love seeing you in your pretty panties, they need to come off. I want you naked, moonshine,”_ he growled huskily.

Dean carefully removed the lingerie from Cas’ body, not wanting to accidentally rip the delicate fabric. Once Cas was completely nude, he admired his boyfriend’s gorgeous body. Cas was all lean muscle due to his entire life being spent swimming in the ocean. Dean couldn’t help but run his fingers down the strong biceps and pectorals in front of him. He swirled the pads of his thumbs around Cas’ perked nipples causing him to gasp at the sensation. Dean leaned over and took each bud in his mouth, lavishing it with his tongue before pinching each one softly.

He then dragged his fingers down the man’s defined abs into his happy trail stopping just above his cock. Castiel bucked his hips, hoping to get Dean’s hand around his leaking cock. Dean smirked before dragging his fingers around the erection and down the man’s toned legs.

Cas growled low in his throat, shooting a hand out and wrapping it around Dean’s neck, pulling him forward so that they could crash their mouths together. Their tongues battled with each other as hands ventured over every inch of flesh they could meet. Cas wrapped his legs around Dean’s waist, causing their erections to slide against each other.

Dean snuck his hand between their bodies to grasp both their cocks and started pumping them, their combined precum making it easy for his hand to slide up and down. Cas threw his head back, his eyes closed, and his bottom lip held between his teeth.

 _“Dean, feels so good but I want more! Please,”_ he begged.

 _“I got ya moonshine, I’m gonna make this so good for you sweetheart. Are you ready for more?”_ Dean thumbed the slit of Cas’ cock as he asked the question, watching as his boyfriend keened low in his throat, his hands clutching the sheets in a vice like grip.

Cas’ eyes blew wide as he stared at Dean. _“Yes, please freckles, I need more!”_

_“Alright, Cas. I’m gonna take care of you, moonshine. Can you roll onto your hands and knees for me? I’ve got to open you up before you can take my cock.”_

Cas scurried to get into position, trembling in anticipation. He relaxed slightly when he felt Dean run his hands softly down his back and sides. He felt Dean lay his palm in the middle of his shoulder blades and push his upper body into the mattress. Castiel went with the motion and then Dean was pulling at his thighs, widening the distance between them. He shivered as he felt the cool air of the room caress his exposed hole.

 _“Alright moonshine, you’ve gotta relax as I do this or else it will hurt. I’m going to start with one finger and then once you’re taking that, I’ll add another and so on. If at any time you need me to stop, you have to tell me. I don’t want to cause you any pain,”_ Dean described as he grabbed the bottle of lube and squirted some on his palm. He waited for an answer from Cas. _“Castiel, did you hear me?”_

 _“Yes, I will let you know if anything becomes too much. Please Dean, I want this, want you, want to be yours,”_ Cas pleaded desperately.

Dean leaned over so he could place a few tender kisses to Cas’ neck and back. _“Moonshine, you already are mine. I love you so much.”_

_“Love you too, freckles.”_

He placed one more kiss to Cas’ sweaty back. He dipped a finger in the lube before placing it against his boyfriend’s rim. Cas jolted forward, having never had anything touch him in such an intimate place. Dean waited for him to relax and then slipped the tip of his finger inside. Cas squeezed around the small intrusion and he waited for the muscles to relax before pushing further in. Once he had his entire finger seated in Cas’ channel, he paused, waiting for the man to get accustomed to the feeling.

 _“Cas, you’ve gone quiet, how are you doing?”_ Dean asked, needing to know if his boyfriend was in any pain.

 _“It... it feels weird but in a good way. I like it and I want more,”_ he mumbled, trying to process the plethora of new feelings.

Dean smiled. _“We’ll get there. I want to make sure you’re taking one finger well before I add another. I’m going to start moving ok.”_

He pushed the finger in and out with a relaxed and steady rhythm, feeling Cas’ muscles loosening with every second. He finally declared him ready for a second finger. He lubed up another and with the next thrust, speared Cas with two of his fingers.

 _“Dean,”_ he wailed as his hole was stretched wider.

 _“You’re ok, Cas. You’re doing so well, moonshine. God, your hole is just sucking my fingers inside so greedily. You want this bad don’t ya sweetheart,”_ he murmured as he scissored his fingers, stretching Cas wider in preparation for his dick.

Cas’ thighs were trembling, barely able to hold him up with the pleasure that was swamping his body. He had never felt anything like this, and Dean was only two fingers deep in him. Would he be able to hold out for the man’s cock?

 _“Dean, more please! I’m already close and I don’t know how long I can hold on”_ Cas whimpered.

Dean lubed up a third finger and slipped it in with his other two. Cas’ hole immediately clamped down and he paused waiting for the muscles to loosen again. As soon as he was able, he thrust in, stretching Cas even further. He curled his fingers inside and knew he had hit his mark when Cas threw his head back and his hole constricted around Dean’s fingers.

 _“Dean!”_ Cas screamed as his orgasm ripped through him, his cock spurting ropes of cum onto the mattress below him. As soon as Dean had ground his fingers against his prostate, his orgasm hit him like a freight train, and he was unable to prevent it. He collapsed onto the bed, Dean’s fingers slipping from his slick channel.

_“Moonshine, you ok?”_

_“What was that? You touched something inside of me and it was like my insides exploded with electricity. I couldn’t hold back my orgasm,”_ Cas replied, still dazed.

Castiel heard soft laughter in his head. _“That was your prostate, feels good when it gets stimulated huh?”_ Cas could only nod, a dopey smile on his face. _“You think you’re ready for more?”_

_“Yes Dean, please, want you in me.”_

_“Alright, let's roll you over. I want to be able to look into those pretty blue eyes as I take you for the first time.”_

Cas tried to move but his limbs were still leaden, but Dean didn’t mind moving him to his liking. He slid a pillow under Cas’ hips, exposing his rim. Dean slid three fingers back inside, ensuring that his boyfriend was still loose. Once satisfied, he pulled out and squirted lube onto his cock. He spread Cas’ legs and scooted forward positioning the tip of his dick at Cas’ entrance.

Their eyes locked, Dean seeking permission. With a single nod from Cas, Dean pushed against his rim until he was able to push the head of his cock inside of his boyfriend’s tight channel. He paused, letting Cas get used to the feeling of something larger than just his fingers. He moved with a turtle’s pace, pushing his cock deeper inside of Cas’ body. It felt like hours before he was fully hilted inside the man beneath him.

 _“Dean, please, don’t move. It’s a lot. I feel so full and your dick stretches me more than what your fingers did.”_ Cas didn’t sound like he was in pain which Dean was glad for.

He dropped his head to press his lips against Cas,’ wanting to take his mind off the unfamiliar feeling in his lower body. He pressed tender kiss after tender kiss to Castiel’s plump lips. He slipped his tongue inside the steamy cauldron of his mouth and stroked every inch with ghostlike touches. As he distracted Cas, he could feel his boyfriend’s body relaxing around him.

_“I think I’m ready for you to move, freckles. Just go slow, please.”_

_“Of course, moonshine. I’ll take care of you, gonna make you feel so good,”_ he replied, pressing one last kiss to Cas’ lips.

Dean pulled out and pushed back in with long, steady strokes, letting Cas get accustomed to the feeling. Cas’ fingernails were digging into his back and his eyes were closed, his bottom lip held tightly between his teeth.

Dean thrust all the way back in and stilled. Cas’ eyes blew open. _“Why did you stop? It was feeling really good.”_

 _“I want you to keep your eyes open. Don’t hide from me moonshine,”_ Dean said, trailing a finger down Cas’ temple until he could cup his cheek.

He started moving again, this time a little faster and slightly harder. Cas moaned but kept his gaze locked with Dean’s. He continued to speed up his thrusts until he had a good rhythm going.

 _“God, Cas, never been with anybody like you before. You’re squeezing me so perfect, so tight and hot. Feel so good sweetheart,”_ Dean murmured.

 _“More, please, harder,”_ Cas chanted over and over.

Dean adjusted his angle slightly and Castiel arched off the bed as his prostate was struck dead on. He thrust harder, the only sound in the room was skin slapping against skin. Cas’ nails were digging into his skin so deep, he thought they might draw blood. Dean could feel his orgasm fast approaching, his veins becoming molten as pleasure raced through him.

He reached a hand down and wrapped it around Cas’ leaking erection. He timed the pumps of his wrists with the thrusts of his hips. Cas came hard for a second time that night, screaming as he was thrown off the edge. His cock erupted, cum being shot so far that some landed on his chin. Dean stroked him through his orgasm to the point of oversensitivity.

 _“Freckles, stop, too much,”_ he whimpered.

Dean dropped his hand, thrusting into Cas a few more times before letting his orgasm rip through him. His eyes blew wide as his cock emptied inside of Cas’ hot channel. His hips stuttered a few more times before going still. His muscles trembled and unable to support him anymore, he fell on top of Cas. The man grunted and wrapped his arms around Dean’s shaking form.

They lay there covered in semen and sweat, trying to let their racing hearts slow down to a normal rate.

 _“Holy shit, Cas, that was fucking fantastic,”_ Dean exclaimed.

_“Don’t you mean fantastic fucking?”_

_“Never change, moonshine,”_ Dean chuckled.

 _“I would agree, that was an extremely enjoyable experience. You are an excellent sexual partner and any siren would be lucky to entice you into their bed,”_ Cas complimented his boyfriend.

 _“There’s only one siren whose bed I want to be enticed to and I’m already in it,”_ he replied, smiling at Cas.

_“I love you Dean.”_

_“Love you too, sweetheart.”_

They traded lazy kisses until they had recovered enough to move. Cas groaned at the feeling of being empty when Dean’s cock slipped from his hole. Dean went to the bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth to clean both of them off. He was careful as he wiped around Cas’ rim, knowing his boyfriend would be sore after his first time.

_“Alright, you gotta get up so I can change the sheets. Nothing worse than waking up to dried up jizz.”_

Cas glared, having no desire to move but grudgingly rolled out of bed to help Dean. They got the sheets changed in record time and then brushed their teeth before tumbling back into bed. Cas curled into Dean’s chest, having no qualms about being the little spoon. He loved having Dean curled around him. It made him feel protected and cared for. With one last tender kiss to the back of his neck, the two men fell into a peaceful sleep.

They quickly fell into a routine. Dean returned to work a few days later, eager to get back to his research. He hated leaving Cas, but he had to make money somehow. During the day, Cas would stay with Mary or Ellen and they would practice sign language with him. He was now able to have entire conversations through signing and was learning more every day. Sam would pick Cas up on his way home from college. He had been teaching Cas how to read and write and just like with sign language, he soaked up the knowledge like a sponge.

Once Dean got home, they would all have dinner together and then watch a movie or play a game. Cas was exceptionally fond of Poker and had a better poker face than Dean. After Sam went to bed, Cas and Dean enjoyed some time to themselves.

Cas was no longer the blushing virgin and came up with ideas that Dean had never imagined. Dean found he liked it when Cas got bossy and fucked him into the mattress just as much as he loved sliding his cock deep inside Cas’ willing body. Afterwards, they would lay curled in each other’s arms, trading kisses and sweet affections.

After running into Alistair, Dean had talked to Bobby about borrowing a boat regularly so he could take Cas to the open ocean when he needed to go back to the water. Bobby had given him the keys to his boat and told him to just clean up after himself. They soon learned, the longer Cas stayed with Dean, the longer he could stay on land. He had been with Dean for nearly three weeks now and could go up to five days before having to return to the ocean.

Cas enjoyed spending time with his new family just as much as he did with Dean. He loved learning new things and he felt more and more human every day. He was coming to dread the days when he had to return to the ocean because he was so afraid of losing what he had gained. Cas finally had the lover and family he had always craved, and Dean had someone who accepted him with all his flaws. They were happy, happier than either of them had ever been.

One day Dean came to realize that even though he and Cas had been together for weeks, he had never actually taken him out on an official date. Sure, they hung out and did stuff together, but usually someone was always with them. He wanted to spend a day with just the two of them. While at work, he started planning. He had the following day off and couldn’t wait to get home and tell Cas that they were going on their first date the next day. When his shift was finally over, he clocked out and made it home in record time. He walked inside and smelled something delicious cooking. He made a beeline for the kitchen.

As he walked through the archway, Cas looked up at the sound of his footsteps. His eyes lit up when he saw Dean. He walked over and slid his arms around Dean’s waist, pecking his lips. _“Hello, Dean. How was work?”_

 _“We rescued a baby seal today. It looks like she was attacked by a shark from the wound to her flipper. We think once she heals up, she should be able to be rereleased back into the wild so that’s good news. Other than that, I did some more research on our leopard shark trio. Both males ended up copulating with the female. Can’t wait to see if she ends up pregnant. Do you know how rare it is to watch leopard sharks actually mate?”_ Dean asked excitedly.

While he had described his day, Cas had gone back to the stove to check on dinner. He was cooking stir fry and didn’t want it to burn. Dean had followed him, refusing to lose contact with him. They now both stood at the stove, Dean behind Cas with his arms wrapped around him.

 _“I’ve witnessed hundreds of couplings between all sorts of marine creatures. They really aren’t shy like humans are. Are land animals the same as ocean creatures or are they like humans?”_ he asked as he pushed the stir fry around in the pan.

Dean chuckled. _“Uh, land animals don’t really care too much if they’ve got an audience. It never really occurred to me that you haven’t seen very much wildlife on land. Do you know what tigers or giraffes or wolves even are?”_

Cas looked over his shoulder to stare at Dean, one eyebrow raised questioningly. _“I have no idea what any of those are.”_

Dean smirked. _“Well, you will be able to see all of them and more tomorrow. I’m taking you on a date and I thought you might enjoy the zoo.”_

Castiel smiled brightly. _“I have heard people talk about the zoo and have wanted to go. I’m excited to go!”_

_“Good! I can’t wait to show you all the animals. Our zoo even has an aquarium in it.”_

_“Let me guess, there are leopard sharks in the aquarium,”_ Cas responded with a roll of his eyes.

Dean nipped at the back of his neck. _“Oh, hush, but there just might be. I love my leopard sharks so sue me.”_

Cas turned to place a chaste kiss to Dean’s cheek. _“It’s okay, freckles. I like to tease you. My favorite animal is a leafy seadragon. I saw them when my clan migrated to Australia for a summer. They are so tranquil and otherworldly. I spent hours in the kelp forests surrounded by them. I was sad to leave them when we came back here.”_

 _“Well, it just so happens that the aquarium at the zoo has an entire tank dedicated to them,”_ Dean said as he nuzzled the back of Cas’ neck.

_“I’m even more excited to go now!”_

A few minutes later, dinner was being set on the table and Sam came out of his room, taking a pause in schoolwork to enjoy dinner with his family. He was currently studying a case for school and had to write a paper on how he would have prosecuted the defendant. Once dinner was done, Sam returned to his room after he was denied helping with the dishes.

“Go work on your paper. It’s due tomorrow, right? Cas and I got this,” Dean signed as he pushed Sam back towards his bedroom.

“Alright, don’t have to tell me twice. Yeah, I’m almost done with it though and I should have it finished before I go to bed. Did you guys want to do anything tomorrow?”

“Can’t. I’m taking Cas on a date to the zoo tomorrow. Why don’t you go do something with Jess?” Dean replied with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“You know what, I think I will. There is a movie she has been wanting to see. Thanks, Dean. Hope you guys have fun tomorrow,” Sam said as he walked off to his room.

Dean helped Cas finish up with the dishes before they walked into the living room and collapsed onto the couch.

“So, what are we watching tonight?” Dean signed.

Cas had insisted that they sign as much as possible so he could learn faster. “Hand me the remote and let me look. Have we watched all the Marvel movies yet? If not, we could watch one of them.”

“Hell yeah. You haven’t seen the Black Panther yet. I think you’re really going to like that one. Let me go grab a beer real quick. You want anything?” Dean offered as he stood up.

“Just bring me a coke. Oh, and will you bring me back a couple of cookies? Mary outdid herself with that last batch.”

She had baked Cas a special batch of mint chocolate chip cookies after learning he didn’t mind being her new recipe taste tester for the bakery she worked at. The latest recipe had been Cas’ favorite. Dean had been a little miffed when Cas’ declared his favorite dessert to be cookies rather than pie.

Dean returned from the kitchen. He pulled the coke out of his back pocket and handed it to Cas along with three cookies. He pulled his beer out of the other back pocket while holding a plate with a slice of pie on it. Mary had baked him an apple pie while she had baked Cas’ cookies.

For the rest of the night, they munched on their dessert and watched their movie. Before heading to bed, Dean checked in on Sam to find his brother already passed out in his bed. Dean smiled softly as he pulled the laptop out of Sam’s lap. He made sure to save everything just in case before shutting the computer down and setting it on the bedside table. He pulled a blanket over Sam’s ridiculously long frame. Without thinking about it, he pressed a tender kiss to his brother’s forehead. He closed the door gently behind him as he walked out the room.

By the time he got to his own room, Cas was already down to his boxers and was sliding underneath the covers. Dean headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and do his business. He stripped down to his boxers before getting into bed and curling up next to Cas. It seemed that he was going to be the little spoon tonight as Cas pulled him tightly against his chest.

_“You were right, I did like Black Panther a lot. Shuri was my favorite.”_

_“Of course, she was. You always go for the smart characters. It’s why you have such a crush on Iron Man, because of his big brain,”_ Dean joked.

 _“You have a type just as much as I do. You drool anytime Captain America or Thor make an appearance. Blonde hair and muscles obviously are your thing. It makes me wonder if I should dye my hair blonde,”_ Cas replied snarkily.

Dean gasped. _“Don’t you dare! I love your hair. Besides, you would look awful with blonde hair.”_

 _“Good to know you like my looks. It might be a dealbreaker otherwise.”_ Cas said before breaking into laughter.

 _“Pshh, whatever. You might not have blonde hair but you’re hella strong. Like dude, it gets me all hot and bothered when you pick me up and toss me on the bed. I kind of like being manhandled,”_ he admitted with blush stained cheeks.

Cas nibbled at the skin between Dean’s neck and shoulder. _“Mhmm, trust me, I noticed. You like it when I take charge, don’t you freckles? You like it when I tell you what to do.”_

A shiver traveled the length of Dean’s body. He felt his dick chubbing inside his boxers. He reached a hand behind him to grip at Cas’ thigh. He tilted his head back, baring his throat to his boyfriend. Cas didn’t pass up the opportunity to lick and nip at the exposed skin while one hand wandered down to palm at Dean’s hardening flesh.

 _“Cas,”_ he moaned as he shoved his hips backwards against Cas’ burgeoning erection.

 _“Be still, freckles. I’ve got you. Let me take care of you,”_ Castiel said softly as he started to move his hand against Dean’s dick.

Dean stilled, trying to do as his boyfriend asked of him. Cas was barely touching him, and he already felt on the edge. He had never been so sensitive before Cas. Now, with the simplest of touches from the man, Dean felt his body responding. He sucked in a breath when Cas squeezed his erection at the same time he placed a hard bite to his neck.

 _“Castiel, please more,”_ Dean begged.

Cas slipped his hand inside of Dean’s boxers to wrap around his cock. He slowly stroked the hardened flesh, keeping his fist loose knowing it would arouse Dean but not enough to get him off. He could feel the dick in his hand harden even more as a drop of precum formed at the tip.

 _“Already so hard for me freckles. I’ve barely touched you and precum is already forming. Love how responsive you are for me, Dean. Tell me what you want baby.”_ Cas peppered kisses against the freckled skin as he teased Dean. He slid his own erection against Dean’s ass seeking out much needed friction.

_“I want you, Cas.”_

_“You’ve already got me.”_

_“I want you in me, asshole. Please moonshine, fuck me,”_ Dean begged unabashedly.

Cas rolled over to grab lube from the bedside table. He shucked his boxers off and Dean followed suit before slotting his ass against Cas’ erection. He reached a hand behind him and grabbed Cas’ ass forcing him even closer. Castiel placated him, letting Dean rub against his erection for a few seconds before stopping him.

 _“Scoot forward a little, so I can prep you, freckles,”_ he ordered Dean.

While Dean moved, Cas squirted some lube onto his fingers and rubbed it around on his hand to warm it up. He rubbed one lubed finger against Dean’s rim, smiling when he heard Dean’s moan echo in his head. He slipped just the tip of his finger inside, wanting to tease his boyfriend. He let the finger rest there, not moving it any further inside of Dean.

 _“Dammit Cas, quit fucking around and prep me,”_ he growled.

 _“But you’re so fun to mess with,”_ Castiel replied as he slipped the finger further into Dean’s pliant body.

He quickly added a second finger and started stretching them, eager to slide his cock into Dean’s tight hole. He watched as his fingers were sucked in; the sight was extremely erotic. He couldn’t help but reach down and pump his own dick a few times. He realized Dean was doing the exact same thing.

He let his fingers rest in Dean’s ass as he asked, _“Did I tell you to touch yourself?”_

Dean froze. He looked over his shoulder at Cas, a cheeky grin on his face. _“You didn’t tell me to not touch myself.”_

 _“You’re insufferable,”_ Castiel huffed as he added a third finger inside of Dean.

 _“Geez moonshine, want you so bad. I’m stretched enough. Please, just get your cock in me,”_ he demanded.

Cas was just as eager so he slid his fingers from Dean’s hole and wiped them on the bed before lubing up his cock. _“Get on your hands and knees freckles,”_ he ordered.

As soon as Dean was in position, Cas slammed into him, jolting his body forward onto the bed. He didn’t waste time, setting a brutal pace from the start. Dean braced his hands against the headboard as Cas thrust into him over and over.

 _“God moonshine, so good! Harder, fuck me harder,”_ Dean begged as Cas’ cock slid against his prostate.

Cas growled, reaching out to grasp Dean’s hips in his hands so he could get better leverage. He slammed into the body beneath him over and over. Dean’s channel was tight and hot as he slid into it. He threw his head back and moaned as his cock was greedily sucked in by Dean’s hole.

 _“Lean back for me, freckles,”_ Cas ordered.

He paused his thrusts long enough for Dean to push off the headboard and lean against Cas’ chest. Cas wrapped one arm around Dean’s chest and a hand fisted his cock. Dean’s hand’s gripped Cas’ thighs tightly as he resumed shoving into Dean’s channel. He threw his head back to rest on Cas’ shoulder, his mouth hanging open.

 _“So beautiful, freckles. Taking my cock so well! Feel so good clenching around my cock,”_ Cas said as he pressed kisses into Dean’s shoulder. Cas fisted Dean’s cock in time to his thrusts and he could feel Dean getting closer.

 _“Mhm, Cas, more, please, so close,”_ Dean chanted as his prostate was pummeled every time Cas slammed into him.

Cas slid into Dean’s body as hard and fast as possible, the sound of their skin slapping and their harsh panting filling the room. Electricity was rushing through both their bodies as their orgasms drew nearer. With one last shove of his hips and a flick of his wrist, Cas felt Dean’s cock explode all over his hand.

 _“CAS,”_ Dean shouted in his head as he climaxed, his body convulsing as his dick shot ropes of cum onto the sheets below.

With Dean’s slick hole squeezing his cock so perfectly, it didn’t take but a few more thrusts before Cas stilled, his dick shooting cum deep into Dean’s channel. Unable to support Dean’s weight, Cas let him drop onto the bed, his cock slipping from Dean. Cas quickly collapsed next to Dean, both of them panting too hard to say anything.

Cas trailed gentle fingers down Dean’s sweaty back all the way down to his rim. He ran his finger around Dean’s entrance and pushed the leaking cum back into his hole. He smirked as he felt Dean clench around his fingers.

 _“Cas,”_ Dean moaned, his body becoming oversensitive as Cas continued to finger fuck him.

 _“So responsive baby. Love how fucked out you look,”_ he murmured as he finally slid his fingers from Dean’s entrance.

 _“You like that you’re the reason I am so fucked out,”_ Dean replied tiredly.

Cas scooted over to press a kiss against Dean’s plump lips. When they pulled apart, they had matching dopey smiles. Cas ran his hand through Dean’s blonde hair as he said, _“You’re right I am. What can I say, I’m possessive and you are my most treasured possession.”_

Dean blushed at his boyfriend’s words. _“You’re precious to me as well, Cas. I love you moonshine.”_

_“Love you too, freckles. You rest while I get something to clean us up with. Do you want to change the sheets or do you want to just wipe them down?”_

_“Ugh, I don’t wanna get up,”_ Dean grumbled.

Cas chuckled as he got up to get a rag from the bathroom. He wiped their bodies clean before wiping the sheet down as well. He threw the rag onto the floor before sliding into bed. He settled with his chest plastered to Dean’s back and an arm thrown over his waist. Dean shuffled around for a few seconds before stilling.

_“Sleep well, Dean. I look forward to our date tomorrow. I love you.”_

_“I can’t wait for tomorrow. Sweet dreams, moonshine, love you just as much.”_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas go on their first official date. When Dean has to take Cas back to the ocean immediately, everything goes wrong and the only solution is for Cas to go back to the ocean permanently. Will he and Dean find a way back to each other?

Cas woke up the next morning to breakfast in bed. Just as he was waking up, Dean walked in with a tray piled high with bacon, eggs, and pancakes. He set the tray down and walked out. He returned with two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to Cas who took it with a small curve of his lips. He sipped at the hot liquid while Dean made up their plates. He then settled next to Cas and they enjoyed a peaceful breakfast together.

After they were done eating, they quickly got dressed and off to the zoo they went. By the time Dean pulled into the parking lot, Cas was vibrating in his seat with excitement. As soon as Baby was parked, he unbuckled his seatbelt and was rushing out of the door and heading to the entrance of the zoo. Dean had to run just to catch up, not that he minded. He was happy to see Cas so giddy.

They paid for their tickets and walked through the entrance. Dean grabbed a map and headed towards a vacant table so that they could plan their day. Once he had their route prepared, he walked over to Cas who was watching koi fish in a nearby pond.

He turned to face Dean as he approached. “The lady over there said we can feed the fish for a dollar. Can we, Dean? I want to feed them so bad,” Cas signed.

Dean’s eyes danced with delight as he went and bought a cup of food to feed the koi. Cas tried to split it with him, but he shook his head, insisting Cas feed all the food to the fish himself. He took his phone out and snapped a few pictures as Cas threw the pellets into the water below. Cas’ face shone with the innocence and happiness of a young child.

Once the pellets were gone, they started on their path through the zoo. The first section they came to was the African savannah. Dean was able to show Cas all the different animals such as elephants, lions, cheetahs, rhinos, and giraffes. Of course, Cas wanted to feed the giraffes and Dean didn’t have the heart to tell him no. He didn’t pass up the opportunity to take even more pictures.

After the savannah, they came to the South America area. Here they were able to see caimans, snakes, and other reptiles from the large continent. They also watched the baby jaguar cubs playing in their exhibit for nearly fifteen minutes. Cas’ favorite turned out to be the giant anteater because of the way he walked around his exhibit looking for food. They decided to eat lunch while in that area of the zoo. They sat outside to eat. Cas finished quickly and walked around while Dean finished his meal. When Dean finally caught up with Cas, he found the man sitting on a low brick wall listening to a couple of macaws.

“Dean, look, these birds can speak human language out loud. There’s not a single marine creature that can do that,” he signed with a huge gummy smile.

“Yeah, they are one of the few animals that can. Some parrots can copy hundreds of words that they have learned from their owners. They live really long lives as well, some more than fifty years,” Dean explained as he read off a posted sign about the birds.

After that, they headed to the Asian exhibit. Dean’s favorite were the tigers and he was overjoyed when he found out the cubs were on exhibit. They spent nearly half an hour watching the cubs run and play. There were also Komodo dragons, pandas, and orangutans to be seen. It turned out that Cas had actually seen Komodo dragons when his clan had migrated to Australia. He had thought them fearsome but intriguing.

When they had finished viewing the dragons, Cas asked, “I thought you said there was an aquarium here?”

“There is, I was saving it for last. We’ve pretty much seen all the land animals. They do have a temporary swamp and grasslands exhibit set up with a few more animals to go look at if you want.”

“If we have the time, why not? I want to see as much as possible,” Cas signed excitedly.

With that decided, they headed to the last few exhibits which included alligators, bears, bison, and wild horses. They stopped to get ice cream cones at one of the vendor’s stands. Cas had never had ice cream and was excited to try it. Before Dean could warn him about a brain freeze, he had taken a huge bite of the sweet treat.

_“Woah, moonshine, don’t do that, you’re going to freeze your brains out!”_

_“Dean, my head hurts. It was so cold,”_ Cas cried.

Dean tried not to laugh but couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. _“That’s why you just lick it sweetheart. You have to enjoy it slowly.”_

Once Cas figured out how to eat it without causing a brain freeze, he ended up enjoying the ice cream. They finished their treat and licked their fingers clean and finally headed to the zoo’s aquarium. They spent the rest of the day there. They got into a little competition of who knew more about each species that called the aquarium home. Between the two of them, there was barely a species that they couldn’t identify. Dean smirked when he realized that he had known more species than Cas.

“You had me beat by two types of fish, Dean. I might have grown up in the sea but even I haven’t travelled in all of the world’s oceans.”

Cas shoved his boyfriend playfully when Dean kept teasing him about winning their little game. Their last stop of the day was the gift shop. Dean told Cas to go look and see if there was anything he liked. After an hour of looking around, Dean went to go find Cas to see what he had picked up. Dean had a few items of his own picked out. He had found a stuffed jaguar, a tiger statue, a key chain for his mom, and a magnet for Sam.

Cas had a much larger haul than Dean did, not that he was surprised. He had found three different leafy seadragon stuffed animals, a Komodo dragon statue, an anteater t-shirt, a magnet with macaws on it, and a keychain that had multiple colorful koi on it. He was looking at a large leopard shark with a pattern that was similar to his own tail.

Dean dropped his stuff into the basket Cas had. He tapped Cas on the shoulder to get his attention. “Find something else, Cas,” he joked.

“I can put some of the other stuff back, but I really want this one. It matches my tail almost exactly. I’m surprised you didn’t get it.”

“I have so much stuff Sam will kill me if I bring any more leopard shark souvenirs home. If you want it though, you should get it.” He looked at the items Cas had already picked out. “Do you really need three seadragon plushies? You can get everything else, but would you be willing to get just one seadragon and then you can get the shark?”

“Of course, freckles. Let me pick out the one I like the most and then I’ll put the other two back,” Cas replied.

He ended up picking the green one because it reminded him of Dean’s eyes. He put the other two plushies back where he got them before he and Dean headed to the checkout counter. Once everything was paid for and packed up, they headed out to Baby. They loaded all their souvenirs up and then headed to Ellen’s for dinner.

It wasn’t too busy when they got to the Roadhouse and Ellen and Jo ended up chatting with them for a little bit. They listened with rapt attention as Cas explained in exquisite detail their trip to the zoo. He was so excited to be able to talk about their day and how much he had enjoyed seeing all the animals and learning so many new things. As he talked, Dean watched him with a small smile and soft eyes. He was so happy to know that Cas had enjoyed their day at the zoo.

Once their food was ready, Ellen and Jo left them alone to enjoy the rest of their date. They ate in silence, but there wasn’t much need for conversation. They were enjoying having time together, just the two of them. For dessert, they each had a slice of pie and after paying, they headed home. They unpacked all their purchases from the zoo before settling on the couch, ready to enjoy another movie. Cas was resting in Dean’s lap with his arms wrapped tightly around the leopard shark he had bought.

As he lay there watching the movie, Dean’s fingers shifting through his hair, Cas realized he was happier than he had ever been before. He had enjoyed his day with Dean immensely and couldn’t wait to go on more dates with him. Because he was so content, he had chosen not to remind Dean that he should have gone back to the ocean that night. He could feel the itch creeping into his skin, but it wasn’t unbearable yet and he was hoping to push it off one more day. He knew Dean had to work tomorrow and he figured they could go to the ocean after Dean got home.

Cas realized how bad of an idea that turned out to be when he woke up later in the middle of the night, his skin itching worse than a thousand fire ant bites. As he scratched at his arm, he clenched his teeth, pain blossoming along his flesh. He looked down to see his skin peeling away.

He shook Dean’s sleeping frame. _“Dean, wake up! I need to go to the water immediately!”_

Dean woke up, his arms flailing. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before turning to Cas. _“What’s wrong? Cas, we were supposed to go last night! Why didn’t you remind me?”_

 _“I knew you would be tired, and I thought I could hold out until today. I was wrong. Please Dean, it hurts,”_ he curled in on himself, trying to bear through the pain.

_“Alright, moonshine. Let’s get dressed and then we’ll get going.”_

They rushed to get dressed and ran out to Baby. Dean raced to the institute as fast as he could. He had barely put Baby in park before he was climbing out and rushing to Cas’ side. The itching had become more unbearable and Cas could barely walk. Dean picked him up in his arms and rushed to the dock where Bobby’s boat was located. He got Cas settled on the boat before starting her up and turning her around to head out to deeper waters. Once he was far enough out, he slowed her down until she came to a stop.

He hurried to Cas’ side, slipping an arm around his waist. _“Alright moonshine let’s get you undressed and into the water. Once you’re good, I’ll get into my wet suit and join you for an early morning swim.”_

They quickly got Cas out of his clothes and Dean helped him to the back of the boat where Cas was able to slide into the water. He went under and reappeared moments later, his skin already looking refreshed. Dean rushed back to his bag and got dressed in his wetsuit. He dropped the anchor ensuring the boat wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. He grabbed his snorkel before joining Cas in the sea.

They swam together for the next couple hours before deciding to return to the boat. Dean crawled onto the deck and hurried to the crank to lower the sling into the water. It was usually used to move marine animals after they had been rescued. It had been Mary’s idea to use it instead to pull Cas from the ocean so the incident with the pool or the net wasn't repeated. Cas swam into the sling and Dean used the crank to lift him out of the ocean and onto the deck of the boat.

“Well, I thought you didn’t know what left those tracks in the sand.”

Dean and Cas froze. Dean looked over his shoulder and saw the other boat floating on the water. Standing on the deck of Bobby’s boat, smiling triumphantly at Dean was Alistair.

Dean spun around, putting himself between Cas and Alistair. “What do you want, Alistair? What are you even doing out here at this time of the day?”

“I could ask you the same thing Dean. But I already know the answer; you’re here visiting a friend. A very special friend at that,” he chuckled darkly.

“Let him go Alistair. Please,” Dean begged.

“Ha,” the man barked. “You really think I would allow a siren to slip through my fingers? Do you know the money and the fame I will gain by turning that creature in? You were a fool for hiding him away!”

“He’s not just a dumb animal Alistair! He’s an incredibly intelligent and sentient creature that deserves to be treated with respect. You can’t just sell him off to the highest bidder,” Dean argued.

“Of course, I can. Who’s going to stop me? You? Once I expose him to the world, you will never get near him again,” Alistair replied, venom dripping from his voice.

Dean was furious as he signed, “I won’t let you hurt him. You’ll have to go through me.”

“Oh really? Well, try and go through this,” Alistair said as he pulled a gun out.

Dean’s eyes widened and the breath left his body. “Woah, just take a moment to think this all through. You don’t want to do something you’ll regret.”

“As long as you follow all my orders, there will be nothing to regret. You try anything and I’ll shoot that creature. Dead or alive, he is valuable to me.”

Dean looked over his shoulder at Cas. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed. Cas’ eyes were swimming with fear and Dean could see the tremors that wracked his body. He wouldn’t let Cas come to any harm.

He looked at Alistair. “Just don’t hurt him. I’ll do whatever you want, but don’t hurt him.”

“Very good Dean. You’re going to go behind the wheel and drive the boat back to the institute. I’ll keep watch over your friend here. Remember, do as I say unless you want him hurt.”

Dean had no choice but to do as ordered. He pulled the anchor up and then walked to the wheel. He turned the boat around and set a course back to the institute, trying to come up with a way to save Cas. He knew nobody would be at the institute for another hour or so and had to come up with something before anybody showed up.

Twenty minutes later, Dean was pulling next to the dock. He walked onto the deck of the boat, glaring at Alistair. He looked at Cas who was still lying helplessly in the sling. His whole body was slumped against the deck, utterly defeated.

“Dean, pull the boat up next to the quarantine tank. I’m going to drop the siren in it.”

He glowered at the man before going back to the wheel and positioning the boat next to the tank. He watched as Alistair turned the crank, lifting Cas high in the air and then moving him until he was hovering over the tank. Alistair lowered it until Cas was able to swim out the sling and into the pool.

Once Alistair was satisfied, he turned back to Dean. He pulled the gun back out. “You’re going to walk in front of me. We are going to go make sure your friend is settled in. Now, get moving.”

Dean stood still until he heard the safety on the gun click. He glared at Alistair before walking off the boat, the gun a heavy weight against his back. He walked up a ramp leading to the deck bordering the tank where Cas was being kept. He rushed to the side and Cas was there to meet him.

 _“Dean, are you ok? What’s going to happen?”_ Cas shouted in his head, his voice filled with fear.

_“I’m fine, what about you? I’ll figure something out Cas. I’ll get you out of here I promise.”_

Dean wanted to say more but was hauled back by Alistair’s hand on his shoulder. “Get away from him. Go sit in that chair.”

Dean wanted to fight, but Alistair had the gun pointed at Cas. He dragged his feet as he slowly made his way to the chair and sat down. Alistair grabbed some rope off the floor before he walked back over to Dean and started tying his hands and feet. Dean jerked at his bound hands, but the rope didn’t budge.

“I don’t even have to gag you. By the time anybody gets here, I’ll have a whole news crew here and that creature over there will become world-wide news. Better enjoy your last bit of time with him. After today, you’ll never see him again,” Alistair sneered.

He tucked the gun back in his pants, chuckling as he walked away. He shut the gate behind him, heading up the dock away from the institute.

Once he was out of sight, Dean started struggling in his bonds, trying to free himself. No matter how much he moved and twisted, he couldn’t get anything loose. He looked over at Cas. He was trying to pull himself out the tank, but the water level was too low and his tail too heavy. He lost his grip on the concrete and slid backwards with a splash.

_“Alright, think Dean. I have to get Cas out of here. First, I have to get out of these ropes. I can’t get them untied…but what if Cas could.”_

Dean started struggling again, trying to unbalance the chair so that it would fall. He finally wiggled enough to send him and the chair toppling to the ground. He hit his shoulder hard but couldn’t worry about the pain. He used his bound feet to push his body across the concrete. He didn’t have much traction and one push didn’t get him very far, but he kept going. It took forever until he was finally near the edge of the pool.

Cas grabbed his wrist. _“Dean, what do you want me to do?”_

_“I need you to untie me.”_

Cas pulled himself onto the edge of the concrete and rushed to untie the ropes that bound Dean’s wrists. He lost his grip and fell back into the pool but finally he managed to untie the ropes. As soon as he was done, Dean quickly untied his ankles. He turned to Cas. He crawled to the edge and crushed their mouths together.

_“I’m gonna get you out of here moonshine. I’m going back to Bobby’s boat and I’ll lower the sling into the pool. Swim in it and then I’ll haul you onto the boat and then we are going back out to the ocean.”_

Dean didn’t give him a chance to reply as he hurried to the boat. He lowered the sling into the water and waited for Cas to swim into it. As soon as he was, Dean was hauling him out the water and onto the deck. Once he knew Cas was ok, he ran to the wheel. He put the boat in full throttle, heading out to the ocean as fast as possible.

He felt Cas come up behind him and wrap his arms around his waist, uncaring of his nudity. _“You did it Dean! You saved me! But why are we going back to the ocean?”_

Dean’s shoulders slumped. _“Because you’re going back to the water.”_

 _“WHAT? NO, Dean, I won’t leave you! I love you,”_ Cas argued.

Dean spun around to face him. _“I love you too and I won’t allow anything to happen to you! You won’t be safe with me anymore! Now that Alistair knows about you, he won’t stop! We were lucky he underestimated your intelligence. He won’t make that mistake again.”_

 _“We move, we leave this town and go somewhere else.”_ Cas had tears streaming down his face as he looked at Dean.

 _“We can’t. You have to be near the ocean, and he would just track us down. This is the only way to make sure you stay safe. You’re gonna go back to the water, find your clan, and convince them to leave this area. These waters won’t be safe for as long as Alistair is prowling around,”_ Dean turned back to the wheel, barely able to see because of the tears clouding his vision.

He heard a sob behind him. _“Dean, please, I can’t lose you. There has to be another way. I’m able to go longer without coming to the ocean. Maybe if I..”_

 _“Dammit Cas, there’s no other way. You think I want this anymore than you do? I love you so much, but I won’t see you hurt,”_ Dean’s voice broke as silent sobs wracked his body.

Castiel knew Dean was right. He held Dean closer to him. They continued to speed over the water, both men relishing in the last few minutes of being together. Neither minded the tears that stained their cheeks or the shaking of their bodies as sorrow overwhelmed them.

Dean finally slowed the boat until it came to a stop. He spun around and touched his forehead to Cas’. Their eyes locked and they stared at one another. Neither man moved, knowing that when they did, the perfect world they had created would shatter.

 _“Cas, you gotta go. We don’t have the time to drag this out,”_ Dean said, his voice shaking even in his own head.

They walked hand in hand to the back of the boat. They faced each other. Neither was sure who moved first, but they were suddenly in each other’s arms, kissing passionately, knowing it was for the last time. They devoured one another, hands touching everywhere, memorizing the feel of each other. The kiss contained every emotion they felt. It was full of pain, fear, hopelessness, and love, so much love.

They finally pulled away, both their eyes shining with wetness. Cas traced his fingers across the freckles on Dean’s cheek one final time. Dean placed one last tender kiss to the swollen lips he loved so much.

_“Go, moonshine. I love you and I will never forget you.”_

_“I love you too, freckles. It’s impossible that I could ever forget you.”_

Cas wrenched himself out of Dean’s arms and flung himself off the back of the boat knowing if they shared one more kiss or one more touch, he would be unable to leave. He let the transformation consume him until he was a siren again. He wanted to swim back up to the water’s surface and give one final farewell to Dean, but he knew he couldn’t. If he did, he would never leave Dean a second time. He forced his tail to propel him forward, away from Dean and towards his clan. He felt his heart shattering into thousands of pieces as he swam.

Dean’s eyes scanned the water, begging to get one last glimpse of Cas, but the siren never resurfaced. It was for the best because if Dean had even caught a glimpse of him, he would have gone after Cas. He dropped to his knees and slammed his fists on the wood, uncaring of the pain as he stared at the water, tears streaming down his face. His whole body shook as he sobbed, no sounds escaping his mouth.

For the first time in years, Dean wished he wasn’t mute. He wanted to shout and cry. He wanted to scream his pain to the heavens. His silence couldn’t express his heartache adequately enough. His heart had shattered. The light that Cas had brought into his life had been extinguished.

As Dean sat there looking at the empty waters, a movie he hadn’t seen in years popped into his head. One scene specifically came to mind. The words from the song that had played during the scene danced across his mind.

 _“Goodbye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end but in my heart is a memory and there you’ll always be.”_ Dean took one last shaky breath. _“Goodbye and farewell moonshine. I’ll always love you.”_

Dean got to his feet and walked back to the wheel. He headed back to the institute, completely dead on the inside. When he arrived, he saw lots of people walking away from the quarantine tank. Most of them had cameras or microphones of some sort. As he walked onto the dock, he was able to make out a few sentences here and there.

“I should have known better than to drive out here!”

“Crazy fool must have been on drugs or something!”

“Can’t believe I thought he had an actual siren!

Dean turned when he heard shouting to his left. He saw Bobby and Alistair standing by the tank. Bobby had his arms crossed and seemed unimpressed. Alistair’s face was a bright red as he shouted at the older man. Dean walked over and they both looked at him.

Alistair stormed towards him and grabbed his shirt in both fists. “What did you do? Where the hell is that creature? Where did you take him?”

“Alistair, let him go,” barked Bobby as he walked up to them.

Alistair shoved Dean away from him, glaring with hatred. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alistair. What creature?” Dean asked with fake cluelessness.

If looks could kill, Dean would have been a pile of ash. “You know what creature I’m talking about. The siren, where is the siren?”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Siren? You mean the creatures from those Greek myths?”

“Alistair, it’s obvious Dean has no idea what you’re talking about and frankly this joke has run its course. Enough! You keep this up and you’re fired,” Bobby said with a firm finality, starting to walk away.

Dean smirked at Alistair. “I told you I wouldn’t let you hurt him.”

Alistair snarled and pulled the gun on Dean. He pointed it straight at his chest. “Tell me where the fucking siren is right now! I know you untied yourself and did something with it, now tell me or so help me I will shoot you.”

“Alistair, put the damn gun down! What are you thinking?” Bobby shouted.

He pointed the gun at Bobby, spittle flying from his mouth as he shouted, “Stay out of this Bobby! I had a real-life siren in that tank and Dean did something with it and I want to know what! That creature was going to make me rich and famous and I’ll be damned if he gets away with it!”

Dean took Alistair’s moment of distraction to rush forward and knock the gun from his hand. He was able to grab the gun and point it at Alistair.

“Hold him there Dean, I’m calling nine-one-one.” A few seconds later, Dean could hear Bobby talking to the operator. He told them to send police down to the institute because there was a man with a gun, and he was threatening to shoot people. He finally hung up the phone and walked back to where Dean and Alistair were standing.

Bobby scowled at Alistair. . “I don’t know if it goes without saying, but you’re fired. I’m also going to tell them to have you psychologically analyzed. You’ve lost your mind, Alistair.”

He glared at Bobby over his shoulder. “I’m not crazy! I know, go check the footage. There are cameras on the tank. You’ll see, I had a real-life siren in that tank!”

Bobby glanced at Dean. “Are you good with waiting here? Police should be here in a few minutes.”

Dean quickly signed, “Tie him up.”

Bobby grabbed some rope and tied Alistair’s hands behind his back and forced him to sit on the ground before tying his feet together. Once he checked to make sure the ropes were secure, he walked off.

“I’ll find him. I’ll find him and kill him just to make sure you hurt. Then I’ll sell his dead corpse to science. You’ll pay for this, Winchester,” Alistair growled.

“It’s people like you who give researchers and scientists a bad name. You find a new species and instead of studying it peacefully, all you care about is making money and seeing how many tests you can run on it. Humanity will never learn to just appreciate the beauty of something,” Dean signed, fury burning in his eyes.

“You act all high and mighty, but you’re a researcher too, Dean. How many animals have you studied and taken blood from,” Alistair taunted him.

Dean glared. “You’re right, I am a researcher. But most of my studies are done in the animal’s natural environment, and when I take blood from an animal, I make sure it’s done as quickly and painlessly as possible. I have never hurt any of my animals just to find something out. I’m not like you Alistair, I respect the animals I work with.”

“I would have respected him. I would have respected the amount of money I could have made off of him,” he said before laughing maniacally.

Dean balled his hands into fists, trying to control his rage at the other man. He looked up when he heard footsteps. Police officers came rushing onto the deck. Dean dropped the gun and put his hands up as they were surrounded. He didn’t figure any of the officers knew sign language, so he just stood there. An officer came up behind him and forced his hands behind his back.

“Hey don’t hurt him. Dean wasn’t the one threatening to shoot people. Alistair was,” Bobby shouted.

“Well, maybe he should have said something,” the officer behind Dean said.

“He would if he could talk. Dean has been mute for years. Now, if you’re gonna arrest somebody, that man tied up on the ground is the one to arrest,” growled Bobby.

The officer immediately let go, apologizing in the process. Dean smiled at her and gave her a quick nod of his head. He watched as she untied Alistair’s legs and then hauled him to his feet. She put cuffs around his wrists before untying his hands.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself,” she asked Alistair.

“I had a siren in that tank, and he stole it from me,” Alistair started shouting.

The cop rolled her eyes. “Sir, I’m afraid fairytales aren’t a good enough reason to threaten somebody with a gun. You have the right to remain silent.”

“I’m telling you the truth! Check the cameras, that’s all the proof you need,” Alistair shouted, spit flying from his mouth.

“I checked the cameras, Alistair. There’s nothing there,” Bobby replied flatly.

The cop holding Alistair led the screaming man away. Dean picked the gun up and handed it to another cop. An officer started questioning Bobby and another one came up to question Dean. He pulled his phone out so he could type his answers out to the officer. After a few minutes, the officers said their goodbyes and walked away.

Bobby turned to Dean. “Son, what happened? How the hell did Alistair get a hold of Cas?”

“Could you call my mom? I…I need her Bobby,” Dean admitted.

Bobby was shocked by the admission. “Head to my office and I’ll call her.”

Dean nodded and started walking towards his office. All the events of the last few hours came crashing down around him with every step. When he finally stumbled into Bobby’s office, tears were falling again, and he could barely stand. He sat in a chair before burying his face in his hands.

The next thing he noticed was a pair of arms wrapping around him. He looked up to see Mary kneeling in front of him. He mouthed the word mom and fell out the chair into her arms. She held him tight to her chest, a hand running up and down his back, trying to sooth his shaking body.

“Shh, honey, it’s ok. You’re going to be ok. Just breathe and tell me and Bobby what happened,” she whispered.

Dean pulled away and wiped at his eyes. His hands were trembling so badly he was barely able to sign. It took him nearly half an hour to get through his story. When he was done, he fell back into Mary’s embrace.

“Oh, Dean. I know it’s hard, but you did the right thing. You were right, Cas would have never been safe on land. His home is the ocean,” Mary said.

Dean shook his head. _“No,”_ he thought, _“His home was with me.”_

At that moment out in the ocean, Castiel was swimming as fast as he could back to his clan. As he neared the borders of their territory, he was met by a guard.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with a few quick movements of his hands.

“I have a warning for mother. It’s important,” Castiel signed.

The guard scowled but let him by. Cas continued swimming until he was outside the cave his mother called home. He sighed in relief when he saw her outside communicating with another clan member. He quickly swam up to her and bowed his head in respect and submission. His mother dismissed the other siren before giving him her full attention.

“You have returned, why? I thought the land was your new territory,” she signaled stiffly.

There was so much Castiel wanted to say but there weren’t gestures to speak about all of it. He cursed the siren’s abbreviated language. “Mother, there is danger. Humans know about us. We need to leave or else we aren’t safe.”

“Humans have never found us before. What did you do Castiel?” she accused him.

Cas closed his eyes and sighed. “A human captured me, but I was saved by another human who won’t hurt us. We need to leave this territory for many moons. It’s not safe.”

“Because of you! I warned you the dangers of going to land and you did not listen. It is your actions that has caused our clan to now be in danger.” Fire danced in her eyes as she looked down on her son.

“I know. I’m trying to fix it. I won’t come with the clan. It is not my home. I don’t have a home anymore,” Castiel replied, the truth of the words hitting him.

His mother sneered before swimming off. He could see her giving orders to the other clan members. She was telling them they were going to swim to deeper waters and claim a new territory, one where they would be safe from humans. In minutes, the entire clan was swimming away further out into the ocean.

Cas was surprised to see his mother swim back to him. He was even more so when she laid a hand against his arm so they could talk telepathically. _“Why are you not going with the clan?”_ Cas asked.

_“I am, but I have to tell you something. I have always been hard on you about going to land because-”_

_“I know about what happened when you went to land,”_ Cas interrupted _. “Dean, the human who saved me from the bad human, is Mary’s son. She and Bobby told us what happened to you and how they helped you. I am sorry that you had to go through that, mother,”_ Cas said.

 _“Yes, they did, and I realize not all humans are bad, Castiel, but there are many who are. That’s why we only go to land once to lower the risk of us getting caught. I will admit, I have never understood your longing to go to land so much.”_ Naomi looked at him, pleading with him to explain.

Cas sighed and bubbles floated from his mouth. _“Mother, you and I both know this clan has never been my home and honestly I don’t think any siren clan ever will be. I don’t fit in with my own kind because of my tail and my sex. On land, I fit in. I found a clan of my own and they treat me in ways sirens never could. They gave me something that no siren could.”_

Naomi dropped her eyes. _“You have fallen in love, my son.”_

Castiel’s eyes widened as his mouth dropped open. _“You know about love?”_

 _“I may not be able to feel it, but I have seen it,”_ she admitted. 

_“When? How?”_ Cas asked, his voice full of surprise.

 _“I have gone to land exactly two times. One to become pregnant and another when you were still a young pup. I wanted to tell Mary and Bobby about you and so I went to Mary’s house. I never went in though. I saw her standing in the kitchen, holding a child in her arms while a man stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. The way Mary and that man stared at the baby was something I could never understand. They looked at the child in a way I will never be able to look at you or anyone else. When you spoke of Dean just now, your eyes had that same look,”_ she said, smiling at Castiel.

 _“I love him more than I have loved anything in this world. He accepted me in every way possible. He was the one who told me to come warn you and the clan. I wanted to stay with him, but he wouldn’t let me. He said I would never be safe on land.”_ Cas could feel tears beading in his eyes as he thought about his lost lover.

_“He’s right Castiel. As a siren, you would never be safe. As a human, though, you would have nothing to worry about.”_

_“I tried being human! But I have to come back to the water every so often which risks my secret getting out.”_ Cas flicked his tail in agitation as he stared at the seafloor.

 _“What if you never had to return to the water?”_ Naomi asked.

Cas’ head shot up, _“What do you mean?”_

_“I know of a sea witch who could potentially help you, Castiel. She is a full moon cycle away from here. Ask your leopard shark friend, she used to live close to the witch. Rowena owes me a favor. Tell her I sent you and she will help you. If you want to be with Dean, she is your best bet, my son.”_

Castiel couldn’t help but throw his arms around her neck. She froze, having never been touched by another siren in such a way. She relaxed and returned the affection. _“Thank you, mother. I know you don’t understand, but I love you. Thank you for looking out for me for so long.”_

 _“I may not love you, but I care for you more than I ever should have. I hope the sea witch can help you son. Goodbye Castiel.”_ She hugged him one more time before pulling away. They locked eyes for a few seconds before she broke contact and swam away.

Cas waved to her, knowing that even if the sea witch couldn’t help, it was the last time he and his mother would ever see one another. _“Farewell, mother.”_

He flicked his tail and headed towards the kelp forest. He had heard rumors of the witch before but had never believed in them. He hoped she would be able to help him. He didn’t know if he could live without Dean for very long.

It didn’t take long for him to find his leopard shark friend, Spot. When he told her about wanting to find the sea witch, she eagerly agreed. She told him the journey was long but not difficult. He said he didn’t care how long or how difficult, he just needed to find the witch.

They set off and for the next month, traveled as much as possible, only stopping for Cas to rest and for them to find food. Since Spot didn’t need to sleep like Cas, she kept watch or would go hunting. Cas was awful at catching food and knew he would have starved without her help.

After a month of travelling, they finally came to float outside of a dark cave. Spot told Cas that this was where the witch lived. She would wait for him while he went in and talked to Rowena. He thanked her for her help before swimming inside.

He froze when he heard a voice. “Hello, Castiel, I’ve been expecting you. It seems like my debt to your mother will finally be paid.”

Cas continued to swim until a large cavern and the witch came into view. Rowena was unlike any siren he had ever seen. Her tail wasn’t that of a shark but of a betta fish that humans were so fond of. Her flaming red hair matched her short candy apple colored tail. She had two large caudal fins that were spread out like giant fans. From her shoulder blades all the way to her caudal fins ran a sail-like dorsal fin. She had a matching anal fin that ran from her waist to her caudal fins. All her fins were a scarlet red that faded to white.

Castiel treaded water just inside the cavern, unsure of the witch in front of him. He signed, “You are Rowena?”

“Oh yes, child.”

“How can you speak aloud? I thought sirens didn’t have the ability to speak,” Cas gestured.

“I’m not just a siren, dear, but also a witch. How do you think I got this fabulous tail,” She asked as she swept her hand down the length of her tail.

“You created a different tail for yourself?” Cas asked in astonishment.

“There’s a lot I can do, dear, such as giving myself a voice,” she said with a smirk.

“That’s amazing. Hopefully you can help me then. I need…”

“I know why you’ve come here. You have fallen in love with a human and wish for a way to be with him,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“How do you know all of this?” Cas asked, confusion evident on his face.

“Oh dear, I know a lot of stuff. I’ve been around for a few centuries or five. Now, come over here by my cauldron and talk to me. Let’s see what I can do for you,” she said as she beckoned him closer.

Castiel cautiously swam forward until he could reach out and touch the cauldron. “You can make Dean and I be together?”

“Well, yes and no. You see, your Dean is human. If you want to make him a siren like you, then there is nothing I can do. Sirens have magic running through their veins, that’s what gives you your song. I cannot create magic and therefore cannot turn Dean into a siren,” the witch described.

Cas’ face fell but then realized something. He looked at the witch with hope and touched her lightly on the top of her hand. _“You can’t create magic to make Dean a siren. Can you take my magic from me and make me a human?”_

“Very clever and intuitive. Yes, Castiel, I can give you a potion that will siphon off your magic until you are fully human. You will walk, talk, and live as any human would,” Rowena said with a smile.

 _“Please, Rowena, make the potion. I will gladly give up being a siren if it means I get to be with Dean,”_ he begged of her.

“I’m glad you said that since I already have the potion made up for you. Now, when you take it, you must be in your siren form. If you are human when you take it, it will have no effect on you. Am I understood?” she asked.

_“Yes, be in siren form when I take the potion. Anything else?”_

“You will have to use your song to activate it. Once you activate it, you will only have a few minutes to take it before it becomes ineffective. Don’t worry if anybody is around. Once you’re human, anybody affected by your song will be released from its hypnotic properties,” Rowena explained as she handed Cas a small green bottle.

_“Thank you, Rowena. Is there anything I can give you?”_

“Oh no. That potion will siphon your magic and that magic will wind up back here with me. That is payment enough.”

Castiel nodded. He turned around and then something crossed his mind. “Rowena, can I ask you one more thing?”

She didn’t respond but pushed a purple vial into his hand. “This also needs to be activated with your song before you give it to Dean.”

He looked at her in surprise. _“How did you know?”_

“I told you I know a lot of things. I hope you and Dean have a long happy life together Castiel. If you come across your mother, tell her my debt to her has been paid.” Rowena turned her back on him, no longer paying him any attention.

Castiel wanted to say more but chose not to. He quickly swam out of the cave and found Spot waiting for him. He looked at the bottles in his hands and decided he needed something to carry them in. He found some kelp and created a simple bag to stow the bottles in. He and Spot then started the long journey home.

The journey back didn’t take as long because Cas hardly ate, and he swam until he was on the brink of exhaustion. He only ate when Spot brought him something to eat as he swam and only slept when she forced him to rest for a few hours. His only concern was returning to Dean, his health be damned.

In half the time it took to get to Rowena’s, Cas and Spot entered a familiar kelp forest. They said their goodbyes before she disappeared into the tall stalks and Cas continued swimming. He didn’t stop until he spotted his cave on the beach. He quickly swam forward and pulled himself out the water so he could transform. He made sure to erase his tracks before hurrying up to the cave. He rushed inside and came to a complete stop when he saw someone sitting against the cave wall, wrapped in a blanket, and holding a familiar stuffed shark in their hands.

Dean’s head snapped up when he heard the footsteps. His eyes went wide, his mouth dropped open, and the shark dropped from his hands. He stood up, using the cave wall as a support. He stumbled on his feet as he walked up to Cas. When he was only a foot away, he halted.

The two men stared at each other for an instant. Neither knew who moved first but in between that moment and the next, they were wrapped in each other’s arms. Tears poured from their eyes as they buried their faces in one another’s neck. Dean clung to Cas as if his life depended on it and Cas held Dean so tightly, the man was having trouble breathing.

They pulled back just enough to lock lips. They immediately opened their mouths, sliding their tongues in and exploring the other’s mouth. There were dozens of emotions in the kiss but the most prominent was love.

When they broke apart, Dean cupped Cas’ face in his hands. He took in the deep bags under his eyes, his slightly hollow cheekbones, and his sand coated hair. He was the most beautiful creature Dean had ever seen.

_“Cas, is this real? Are you really here? It can’t be, I must be dreaming.”_

Castiel reached down and pinched Dean’s arm, smirking at the shout that reverberated in his head. _“It’s me Dean. I’m here, freckles. I came back to you.”_

 _“Cas, why? I told you it wasn’t safe. Alistair might be in prison, but someone else could find out. Someone even worse than him. You have to go back to the ocean.”_ It hurt with every fiber in his being to say that, but Dean knew the words were true.

He had missed Cas with a desperation he didn’t know was possible. The day Cas left had been the worst. Having to hear Sam and Ellen and Jo ask him where Cas was shattered him even more than he already had been. The next day when he woke up without Cas’ warmth next to him, he had cried for half an hour. The first week he had spent mostly in bed, crying and sleeping. He ate at most every few days and showered even less. Anyone who tried to talk to him, he would completely ignore until they left.

Eventually Mary put her foot down and forced him out of bed and into a shower. She insisted he had to start living again. She knew what it felt like to lose the one you love but sitting and grieving for them all the time wouldn’t solve a thing. She demanded he went on every outing she did, ensuring that he got out the house. He tried to fight her, but one glower from her and the fight left his body.

Slowly Dean started going through the motions of life again. He got up, ate, went to work, came home, ate, and slept and then repeated it all over again. But he wasn’t living. His research no longer put a spark in his eyes. He didn’t smile as he chowed down on a burger or pie. He refused to be more sociable than he had to be, answering questions with a shrug or a shake of his head. Without Cas, his life had no meaning, and he still carried a broken heart.

Even now, six weeks later, he was hardly any better. He still hadn’t slept in his own room at the house he shared with Sam. He couldn’t bear to see all of Cas’ stuff, but he also couldn’t pack it up and get rid of it. On his days off, he would come down to the beach and sit in their cave, the stuffed shark he had gotten for Cas held tightly in his hands. He prayed that Cas would return to him even knowing it was too dangerous.

Dean was shaken from his thoughts. _“Freckles, are you ok? What’s wrong,”_ Cas asked urgently.

 _“Nothing, nothing is wrong but Cas, why did you come back? For six weeks, I’ve wanted nothing more than for you to return, but you left for a reason. You’re not safe with me.”_ His body shook with a silent sob.

 _“As a siren, I’m not safe with you, my love. But as a human, I would have nothing to worry about.”_ Cas couldn’t help but place a tender kiss to Dean’s lips. He had missed them so much.

_“I don’t understand.”_

Castiel pulled the green bottle from his kelp bag. _“This potion came from a sea witch. When I take it, it will suck the magic from me and render me human. I won’t be a siren any longer. We could be together, Dean.”_

Dean backed up, his head shaking violently. “No, Cas. I won’t let you give that up for me! You’re a siren; you belong in the ocean.”

Cas put the bottle back in the bag before signing back. “No, Dean, I don’t. I have never belonged there. Even when I was a child, I didn’t fit in. I had too many emotions, too odd of a tail, a love for land, all on top of being male. I have nothing to contribute to my clan. I’m not a good hunter or a warrior. I will never lead like my mother. My healing skills are limited. There is nothing in the water for me.”

Castiel walked forward until he could pull Dean back in his arms. He smiled when the man didn’t put up any resistance. He ran his fingers through Dean’s considerably longer hair. _“Freckles, I’m not giving anything up to become human. I’m gaining a lover and a family. To stay a siren is to give everything up. My clan has moved on and I am not welcome there anymore. If I go back to the water, I will be alone. I will lose the family that I found, and I will lose you.”_

Dean didn’t have words for the confession he had just heard. This ethereal being was willing to give up everything he had ever known for him. Cas would give up his siren form to be with Dean, some mute scientist who was way too fond of food and had an obsession with his car.

Dean didn’t realize more tears had fallen until he felt Cas wiping them away. His eyes locked with ocean blue. _“You are all of those things, but you are so much more. You are strong and loyal. You care so deeply for those you consider friends and family. You are outgoing and persistent and intelligent. You took a stranger from the ocean and bought him an entire wardrobe and gave him a place to sleep. You showed me what it meant and how it felt to be loved. My home isn’t the ocean Dean, it’s you. My home is with you.”_

Dean crashed their mouths together, trying to pour all his love into that kiss. He needed Cas to understand just how much he loved him. When they broke apart, they were both panting for breath. _“You’re my home, moonshine. These past weeks, I haven’t been living. I’ve barely managed because you weren’t here. I don’t just want you in my life, I need you. I love you so much and without you, the light in my life had extinguished.”_

Dean paused, trying to collect his thoughts. _“I know you think that I showed you how to love, but you showed me just as much. You showed me how to enjoy life and all the little things it had to offer. You’ve made me smile and laugh more in the few weeks I was with you than I had in my entire life. You put up with my eccentricities and you love my family. You are gorgeous and smart and have a wicked sense of humor. You take, but you give so much in return, Cas. So, if you really want to stay with me, I don’t have the willpower to tell you no. I’m going to be selfish and keep you.”_

_“I don’t mind you being selfish if it means I stay with you.”_

Dean barked out a laugh. _“Well, let’s turn you human!”_

Cas pulled out the small purple bottle first. He looked at it and then Dean. He hoped it would be something Dean would want.

 _“That’s a different bottle. What is that for?”_ Dean asked curiously.

 _“It’s for you. I hope you won’t be offended by it. It’s…”_ Cas tried to explain.

 _“Moonshine, I trust you. Just give it to me,”_ Dean interrupted.

Cas’s eyed widened in surprise, _“Don’t you want to know what it’s for?”_

Dean shook his head. _“What’s life without a few surprises?”_

 _“Ok. I have to use my song to activate it, but Rowena said when I become human any effects from my song would disappear,”_ Cas warned.

Dean’s eyes lit up. _“I get to hear your song, that’s awesome!”_

Cas didn’t respond other than to roll his eyes as he unstoppered the bottle he had acquired for Dean. He glanced between Dean and the bottle. He had never sung his song but one time, and that was when his mother had taught him how to sing it. He was nervous that he had forgotten how. He took a deep breath and started to sing.

His song didn’t have words. It was a series of hauntingly eerie low-pitched notes that were similar to that of a whale’s song. As Cas sang, he watched the liquid in the bottle bubble and fizz before settling after a few seconds. Once the potion was completely back to normal, one last note echoed off the walls of the cave before going silent.

Cas looked up at Dean. He was staring at Cas with a slack jaw and glazed eyes. He waved his hand in front of Dean, but it was like the man had gone blind; he didn’t even blink. Cas realized he had gone into a hypnotic state because of the song.

He laid a gentle hand on Dean. _“Drink this for me, freckles.”_

Dean took the bottle out of Cas’ hand without hesitation and drank it down in one gulp. Cas watched him to see if anything happened, but Dean continued to sit there and stare blankly in front of him. Cas pulled the other bottle out of his bag and opened it. He sang his song once again to activate it. Once the potion had settled down, he put the lid back on.

He took a deep breath before leaning over to give Dean a quick kiss. _“I’ll be right back, freckles. Just gotta go get rid of my tail.”_

Cas scurried from the cave and beelined it for the water. He scanned the area just to make sure there was no one else on the beach. He held the bottle carefully as he went into the water to transform for the last time. He looked at his tail and slid a hand down the scales. He would miss the look of it and the ability to slice through the water with ease. He was sad to lose the ability to communicate with animals. No matter what he was losing though, it would be worth it if it meant he got to spend the rest of his life with Dean. He drank the potion down without a second thought.

Cas had been prepared for pain, but other than a slight burning in his throat, it was as easy as any other transformation. He looked down in awe as he floated in the water, legs swishing back and forth instead of a tail. He swam forward until he was able to walk onto the beach, water sliding off his body. He looked up to see Dean standing at the edge of the cave. Cas ran towards his boyfriend and jumped into his arms, Dean spinning him in a graceful circle.

When he was back on his feet, Cas reached out and held Dean’s face in his hands. He placed a few tender kisses to his lips before smiling and saying, “Hello, Dean,” in a deep, raspy voice.

Dean started signing, but Cas paid no attention to the words as he grabbed both of Dean’s hands in his. He looked at Cas in confusion. “Say my name, Dean,” he insisted.

Dean’s eyes narrowed. He shook his head, trying to free his hands from Cas’ firm grasp. Cas refused to let go, again telling Dean to say his name. He glared at Cas unamused.

After the seventh time of Cas telling him to speak, Dean shouted, “Dammit Cas, you know I can’t!”

Dean froze, his eyes going wide. He had a deer in the headlights look as he stared at Cas.

“I told you that you could do it. That first potion was to fix your vocal cords. I knew when I turned human, I would be able to speak, but I thought it unfair that you couldn’t. The witch gave me the potion without me hardly saying a word. I hope I didn’t overstep,” Cas explained as he dropped his gaze to the ground.

“Moonshine, look at me,” Dean said in a voice rough from over a decade of being unused. When Cas locked eyes with him, he continued to speak. “How could you possibly think I would be upset with such a gift? You’ve given me my voice back, Cas, and I will never be able to repay you for that. I love you so much, moonshine.”

Cas flung his arms around Dean’s neck as a sob escaped his throat. He buried his tear stained face in Dean’s shoulder as the man hugged him tighter. He could feel tender kisses being pressed into his wet hair and sweet nothings fell from Dean’s mouth over and over. He felt himself calming down as Dean continued to comfort him.

When Cas felt he could speak, he pulled away to look at Dean. “I love you, freckles. Spending my life with you will be payment enough. I’ve missed you terribly, Dean. So much that even my mother noticed it. She was the one to tell me about Rowena. Without her, I never would have been able to return to you.”

“I hope you thanked her. I thought she couldn’t love you though.”

“I think she loved me in her own way. She actually came back to land after I was born to tell Mary and Bobby about me. When she got to Mary’s house, she saw Mary, John, and baby you from the window. She said I had the same look in my eye when I talked about you that Mary and John had in theirs when they looked at you. We both knew I wouldn’t go with the clan when they left this area just like we both knew I sucked at being a siren. Here on land is where I finally feel at home. Being with you, Dean, is home for me,” Cas said, a gummy smile spreading across his face.

“These past weeks without you have been the worst of my life. I’ve been depressed to say the least. My family has forced me to go to work and eat, but nothing held any appeal because you were gone, Cas. I might be home for you, but you’re life for me.”

Dean kissed him, swiping his tongue across the seam of Cas’ lips. He opened his mouth and their tongues danced with one another before Cas submitted. He let his mouth be plundered, feeling all the emotions Dean was expressing without words. He knew he would have bruises on his arms from how tightly Dean was holding him. He figured Dean was afraid Cas would just disappear if he loosened his grip.

When the need for air became too much, they broke apart, slightly panting. They gazed at each other, love shining in their eyes. Cas ran his fingers across Dean’s freckled cheeks, trying to commit to memory every single feature. He had feared he would never see him again and he could barely believe this was real.

“I want you Dean, so bad. I want to feel your hands on me; it’s been too long since I’ve felt you against me, in me,” Cas pleaded.

“Then let’s go home, moonshine. I wish we could do this now, but we don’t have the supplies.”

Cas frowned and then realized something. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and sucked on them until he pulled them away, soaked in his saliva. He held his slick fingers in front of Dean. “We have all the supplies we need. Please Dean,” Cas begged with a puppy dog face.

Dean groaned, “You are going to be the death of me, I swear. The thought of being inside of you right now is too enticing to pass up. C’mon let’s go back inside the cave.”

He grabbed Cas’ hand and pulled him along. There were still a few blankets in the cave and Dean spread them on the sand. He laid down and patted the spot next to him. Cas quickly joined him, straddling his hips, and pressing rough kisses to his lips.

“God, I missed you, moonshine. Can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” Dean said as he pressed soft kisses to every inch of Cas’ skin he could reach. What he couldn’t reach with his lips, he traced with his hands. He stroked his fingers over Cas’ arms and back before finally cupping the man’s ass cheeks in his large hands.

Cas threw his head back, moaning as his flesh was kneaded. “Missed this so much Dean. Never thought I’d have this again.”

Dean pulled away from the hickey he was sucking into Cas’ skin. “I know what you mean sweetheart. There will never be another person for me. Gonna make you feel so good.”

He pulled one hand away from Cas’ skin and held the fingers to his lips. Cas licked at them tentatively, a smirk on his lips as he gazed at Dean. When Dean cocked an eyebrow, Cas took all four fingers into his mouth. He licked over and in between each finger, making sure they would be wet enough.

When Dean pulled his fingers out his mouth, spit dripped from them. “Get on your hands and knees for me, moonshine. I’m going to make sure you’re good and prepped before I take you.”

Cas scrambled to comply, going down to his forearms, sticking his ass in the air as he spread his legs wide. He looked over his shoulder. “Dean, c’mon, I want you!”

Dean chuckled as he scooted forward and placed a palm on Cas’ lower back. “Patience, moonshine. We’ll get there. I won’t hurt you, so we are going to go slow.”

Castiel growled. “Dammit Dean, I’m not a damn virgin as you very well know. Prep me and fuck me, it’s been six weeks. I need you,” he demanded.

He couldn’t help but groan when a hand landed on his ass. “I see you’ve become a brat in the six weeks we’ve been separated. It’s a good thing I love you.”

He pushed a finger inside of Cas’ tight hole, effectively silencing the man. He waited for the muscle constricting around his finger to relax before moving the finger in and out. Once he could easily move one finger, he added a second.

“Oh,” Cas moaned as he was stretched by the additional digit and pleasure rushed through his body. He pushed back against the fingers invading his body, hoping it would speed up progress. He stilled when he heard a growl.

“Good boy. You take what I give you,” Dean murmured as he pressed a few kisses into Cas’ sweaty skin.

He stretched his fingers apart, watching Cas’ hole widen to accommodate. He couldn’t help but lean over and press his tongue in alongside his fingers. He could feel Cas trembling beneath him as he was speared by both tongue and finger. The man was babbling pleas over and over, not that Dean was paying attention to them.

“Doing so good for me, moonshine, taking me so well,” he whispered as he pulled his face away. He pulled his fingers out before licking against Cas’ rim, causing the man to squirm from the sensation. While he lapped at Cas’ hole, he snuck a hand down to firmly stroke the man’s erection. Pre-cum was dripping profusely, a small puddle having formed on the blanket beneath.

“Dean, please, so close. I want you in me when I cum,” Cas sobbed as fire swept through his veins from the multiple sensations.

While Dean continued to stroke Cas, he placed his dry fingers against the man’s lips. Cas immediately sucked them in. Once they were wet again, Dean speared Cas with three fingers, the man’s back bowing. Dean watched as Cas’ hole greedily sucked his fingers in. He reached down and stroked his own cock, short shocks of fire lighting up his veins. He had to squeeze the base to keep himself from cumming, close to the edge himself.

Dean was so distracted trying to stave off his own orgasm that he hadn’t realized Cas had pulled away until he was suddenly on his back. He looked up in shock to see Cas straddling his hips reaching behind himself to guide Dean’s cock to his slick entrance. In one swift movement, Cas’ hole engulfed Dean’s cock entirely, his ass resting against Dean’s pelvis.

“God moonshine, warn me next time! Holy shit, you feel so fucking good! Forgot how hot and tight you were,” Dean said as Cas started moving at his own pace.

Cas braced his hands against Dean’s chest to give him as much leverage as possible as he bounced up and down in Dean’s lap. He pulled up until just the tip of Dean’s cock was still in him and then slammed down, pushing Dean’s cock as far inside his channel as possible. His veins were turning into molten lava and Cas could feel his orgasm approaching.

“Dean, so good,” he moaned as Dean’s cock slammed into his prostate.

Dean set one palm against Cas’ thigh, the other sliding around his neck and pulling him forward to crash their lips together. This new angle prevented Cas from moving as much but it allowed Dean to plant his feet and thrust into Cas’ tight hole. Cas could do nothing but hold onto Dean’s shoulders as the man rutted into him. His cock was trapped between their bodies and the constant friction was shooting lightning through him.

“So close, freckles, just a little more,” Cas panted, sweat coating his body.

Dean slammed his hips as hard as he could into Cas’ tiring body, nailing his prostate. Cas pulled his lips away, his head thrown back as his orgasm erupted inside of him. He felt his cock pulsing and wrapped his palm around his shaft to wring all that he could from his weeping dick. When the last drop slipped from his dick, he collapsed onto Dean’s chest, unable to move a muscle.

Dean’s thrusts were becoming erratic as he chased his own orgasm. He felt it building, his balls tightening. Cas’ body squeezed around him, and it was enough to hurl him over the edge.

“Cas,” he shouted as cum squirted from his dick, coating Cas’ insides. He rutted into Cas a few more times before stilling, too exhausted to do anything else.

They lay there silently, trying to calm their racing heartbeats. Dean ran his fingers through Cas’ sweaty hair, the man purring at the attention. Cas placed a few soft kisses to Dean’s chest before leaning forward and kissing him soundly on the lips.

Green met blue as they stared at one another. “That was amazing, Cas,” Dean said, love shining in his eyes.

Cas’ lips turned up in a small smile. “I must concur.” He rested his palm against Dean’s cheek; the other man nuzzled into the contact. “I missed the sex, but more than anything, I just missed you and our bond. I felt so alone in the water without you. I know you’re worried that years from now I’m going to regret giving up that life, but I won’t, Dean. That world, I never really belonged to it. This is where I belong, right here in your arms.”

He snuggled into Dean’s chest, his cheek lying right over Dean’s heart. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas’ waist, uncaring of the man’s weight on top of him. “Damn straight, this is where you belong Cas. It’s you and me, together.”

A little while later, they got up and got cleaned off. Cas put on some of the clothes that were left behind in the cave. They shared a few more kisses before he and Dean walked to Baby. Before heading home, Dean sent a quick text to Sam, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo to all meet at Mary’s house. When he and Cas pulled into his mom’s driveway, they were greeted by their family and friends. Cas was passed around and hugged by all of them while Dean watched, a huge smile on his face. Everyone freaked out when they learned that Dean was once again able to speak. Dean was then passed amongst everybody and hugged while Cas watched fondly. Mary announced that they were all going out to celebrate Cas returning and Dean being able to talk. Sam drove over to Jess’ so that she could be part of the festivities while everybody else went home to get ready and then meet at a local Italian restaurant.

Dean and Cas arrived last. Cas was dressed in a tan shirt and a beautiful patterned blue skirt that matched his eyes while Dean was dressed comfortably in a pair of jeans and a green shirt that complimented his own eyes. They were all smiles as they joined their friends and family for a wonderful dinner. After the meal when everyone was digesting their food and enjoying each other’s company, Dean slid from his chair. He kneeled on the floor in front of Cas and pulled out a box from his pocket.

This particular box had sat inside his drawer for six weeks, never having been opened since Dean brought it home. When he popped it open in front of Cas, the man’s eyes went wide at the silver ring he saw inside. Dean’s speech was sweet but short and to the point. Cas already knew everything he had to say anyways. Tears poured down Cas’ cheeks as he nodded his head vigorously in response to Dean’s question. Dean surged to his feet and kissed his fiancé passionately as he slipped the ring onto Cas’ finger. Everyone in the restaurant erupted into applause and cheers.

Even though he could talk now, Dean couldn’t help but sign, “I love you moonshine. Welcome to the rest of our life together.”

Cas’ face erupted into a huge gummy smile as he signed back, “I love you too, freckles. There’s no one else I want to spend my life with.”

What a life it was, filled with all the passion and love the both of them had always dreamed of but never thought they would find. Two lonely souls brought together by chance but stayed together by choice. It was a life neither of them ever regretted.


End file.
